A couple of years ago, when I was starting an e-commerce business that focused on earth-friendly and sustainably-produced baby gifts, I ran across an article on the Green Guide by Mindy Pennybacker and Vincent Standley about “inherently” flame-resistant pajama options for children.

The article concluded that parents often need to weigh cost, availability, environmental concerns, and chemical exposure when making a decision to buy children’s pajamas that are both safe and sustainability-minded.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission requires that pajamas meet one of two general standards. They can either be snug fitting and non-flame resistant or they can be looser fitting so long as they are treated with flame retardant chemicals. (Note: You can see more specific details on the federal safety guidelines for children’s sleepwear flammability in a previous post.)

While this ruling seems pretty clear cut, it allows for a wide range of possible fabric and fit possibilities, each with its own safety, health, and comfort attributes.

Synthetic fibers may be treated with flame retardant or they may “inherently” meet federal flammability guidelines. Nylon and acetate are synthetic fibers that are commonly used in children’s pajamas; they are treated with flame retardant chemicals after the fabric is produced. Other synthetic fibers, like most polyesters, modacrylic, matrix, and vinyon, are considered “inherently” flame-resistant because of their chemical composition. All of these fabrics meet federal safety guidelines and none has been found to pose health risks to children. But,they do tend to be less breathable and have a negative environmental impact.

Cotton fiber is not inherently flame-resistant and, given parental concern about chemicals, is typically not treated. For these reasons it is most often used in snug-fitting pajama styles. Cotton is a very popular fabric for sleepwear because it is comfortable. Cotton, though, is the most chemical-intensive crop plant in the world, unless it is grown organically, and can have a negative impact on the farm workers, local ecosystems, as well as expose children to chemicals.

According to Pennybacker and Standley “The healthiest safe choice with the lowest embodied energy and lowest ecological impact would be snug-fitting, organic cotton long johns or union suit-style pajamas with the ‘Wear snug-fitting. Not flame resistant.’ label. These common sense choices conform to the CPSCs standards, give the environment a break and provide your child with safe and comfortable sleepwear.”