By: Mario C. Churchill

Have you ever asked yourself how safe your child is when he�s wearing cotton pajama? Did you ever ask yourself which chemicals were used in manufacturing the garment?

Most children�s pajamas are made from polyester or cotton. This is confirmed by the US CPSC or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Because it is made of synthetic fabrics, have flame retardant chemicals which bond into the fabric�s entire composition making the cloth snug-fitting. It is important to note that cotton pajamas should be snug-fitting since this is what the government rules complies.

According to CPSC, cotton and polyester pajamas are said to be flame resistant. Because cotton is manufactured with fire retardants that are already built in through the insertion of chemicals to the compound, the fabric becomes part of the composition. Halogenated hydrocarbons are contained in the cotton and polyester pajamas.

These polymers are stable so cotton pajamas do not have threats to the health of the child. The only problem is that if cotton pajamas are not snug-fitting, this may affect the breathability of the composition of the fabric which can lead to rashes or overheating.

In 1971, CPSC adopted a couple of standards with regards to children�s pajamas. It is said that the pajamas must be exposed to the flame and should extinguish on its own. That is why polyester garments were approved because the built-in fire retardants did just as that. The opposite could be said about cotton pajamas. Because these were untreated, data show that there was a decrease in cotton pajamas as well as fire-related injuries and deaths among children.

The standards regarding flammability took effect around this time leading to the elimination of cotton pajamas. In 1977, a fire retardant used in textiles was discovered to be carcinogenic and was also banned by the CPSC. The public demanded for more comfortable and healthier sleepwear around the 80s and 90s. The consumer groups pressured the CPSC to lighten the standards on Flammable Fabrics, particularly cotton pajamas.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, loose sleepwears that are made from cotton are linked to the injuries and burns incurred each year. But because of the demand from the public for more comfortable sleepwear, the Flammable Fabrics Act was changed in 1997 and the snug-fitting cotton pajamas became legal.

The new standards from the CPSC required snug-fitting cotton pajamas to be labeled with a tag that claims to be safe for the child. As long as the garment is a snug fit and is not flame resistant, the parents are more convinced that their children will not catch fire wearing those cotton pajamas.

CPSC made sure that the flame-resistant garments are labeled correctly. Therefore, any garment must pass the testing parameters that are set by the company. It exposes the fabric to open flame over and over again. IF at any point it fails the test, then this particular item is stopped from being produced. Polyester pajamas usually pass the test. It is the cotton pajamas that have the harder time to do so.


Cotton pajamas can be treated by fire-retardants although there is a strict compliance to the standards of the CPSC requiring all of these fabrics must be snug-fitting and safe for children. As a parent, prioritize on which kind of sleepwear you should shop for your child. It could be as follows. 1.) Nylon 2.) Polyester 3.) Cotton. The safest is to go for the snug-fitting and organic polyester.

About the author:

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on pajamas or sleepwear checkout his recommended websites.

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