The shop assistant has shared details of her experiences about working in retail
A shop assistant is urging shoppers to wash new clothes before wearing them. Palito Michelle, who works in a clothing store and regularly shares her retail experiences with her social media followers, has warned against immediately wearing newly purchased garments.
After working at a beachfront shop, she recounted instances of ‘dirty’ customers trying on clothes before returning them to the racks. Despite shops doing their utmost to maintain cleanliness, she warns that unseen bacteria could be lurking on the garments.
In the grand scheme of things, consumers should also consider the long journey garments undertake before they land on shop rails. Each stage of this voyage can introduce pollution and other contaminants that are transferred onto you when you wear the clothes without washing them first.
Speaking on TikTok, originally in Spanish, Palito advised: “Please, when you buy clothes, wash them before wearing them. I know it seems obvious, but many people don’t, me included, on many occasions. I work in a shop located on the beachfront, where I see so many disgusting things. People are very dirty.
“I’ve seen customers with sand on their buttocks trying on bikinis, T-shirts or shorts. They leave everything full of sand, and also wet, and then they put those things back into the rack; they don’t even buy them.
“Disgusting! Today, a customer arrived, and he was very drunk. He was sweating, and his smell was awful. He tried on several T-shirts, which ended up wet and smelly.
“He didn’t buy a thing and left like nothing had happened, probably to carry on drinking. Obviously, shops have products to keep clothes ‘clean’ and if we see someone has left a mess and the garments have stains or worse, we remove the product, but still… Seriously, wash the clothes before wearing them.
“People are very dirty.”
Potential contaminants in newly bought clothes
A number of contaminants can lurk in newly purchased clothes before they’re washed. In some instances, these can trigger skin irritation, often known as contact dermatitis, leading to symptoms such as itching, blistering, redness, dryness, cracking, and swelling of the skin.
Some irritants that can be found in clothes include:.
- Excess dyes leftover on the fabric
- Fabric softeners
- Stain-resistant or water-repellent coatings
- Anti-mildew products to keep clothes fresh in storage
Research examining contact dermatitis in textiles suggests that the condition often stems from substances used to imbue a material with certain ‘qualities’ or ‘performances’. Indeed, it highlights that the textile dye mix has proven useful in diagnosing allergic contact dermatitis.