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Dyeing Baby Carriers: Safety Information

All of the information on this page was assembled in collaboration with the Facebook group Dyed Baby Carriers. If you have more questions regarding dyeing your baby carrier, join their group for assistance!

DO NOT USE RIT dyes and iDyes and Pre-Mixed Liquid dyes.

Under no circumstance are they safe for baby products.
These dyes work more like a stain and do not chemically bond to the fibers. This means that they are not colorfast. This becomes a problem with the dyed fabric comes into contact with baby's mouth or wet skin.

Powder dyes in all forms are not safe.

Air born dye particulates can cause minor irritations to serious chronic illness.
Wear an N95 mask at all times when dye is in powder form. You can purchase a full face respirator at your local Walmart, hardware store or online on Amazon.com for under $20-25, including filters.
Wear your mask and gloves when mixing dyes, and especially when you are spreading the dye powder out for an ice/snow dye, confetti dye or rain/sprinkler dye.

Some of the proven baby-safe, non-toxic dyes are:

Procion MSDS: http://images.dharmatrading.com/images/public/pdf/msds/msds_PR_Dharma-Fiber-Reactive-Procion-Dyes-090716144603.pdf

Dylon MSDS: http://www.dylon.com.au/factsheet.htm

Tulip MSDS: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alvinit.com%2Flibrary%2Fpubfiles%2FSDS_Tulip_One_Step_Fashion_Dyes_1_of_2_0113.pdf&ei=yidgU-ifBqKGyQHVrYDwCA&usg=AFQjCNGHisE0mQj-Q2UvX9IzSX9hb5-NIA&sig2=HWdlhAawCtUTkjpD0NNHjg&bvm=bv.65397613,d.aWc

Lumi Inkodyes MSDS: http://www.inkodye.com/help/inkodye/safety

STRIPPING SSCs IS NOT SAFE. PERIOD.

Stripping a SSC can result in damage to buckles and webbing.
Sudden, catastrophic failure of the carrier can result.

NEVER BLEACH A CARRIER/WRAP.

Bleach weakens fibers over time when not properly neutralized. Even when bleach is neutralized, however, there is no way to measure the amount of damage done to the fibers during the bleaching porcess.
Sudden, catastrophic failure of the carrier can result.

The safety of dye on skin has not been thoroughly investigated.

Please use gloves.
Long sleeves and eye protection are a good addition.
Wash stained hands in warm soapy water with a very mild exfoliate.
The use of bleach, rubbing alcohol or magic eraser on dyed skin is not recommended.

Remember: Gloves and a N95 mask are the MINIMUM safety requirements.

Suitable fiber reactive dyes for cellulose fabrics (cotton, rayon, bamboo, etc):

Procion MX
Dylon Permanent
Dylon Hand
Dylon Cold
Dylon Machine Dye
Tulip powder dye
Lumi Inkodye

DO NOT USE:

Dylon Multi Purpose dye
Rit dyes
Tintex dyes
iDye for natural fabric
liquid (premixed) Tulip dyes

Dyeing polyester fabrics is not recommended for baby products. This is because a) poly dyes require boiling over heat, which can damage certain types of fabric and carriers, and/or b) poly dyes are not fiber reactive and do not permantently bond to the fabric in the same manner that cellulose fabrics and dyes do. Therefore, the dyes are never "fixed" and are unsafe for small humans that like to put things in their mouths. :)

More information on dye types and uses please visit: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing.shtml

Use of Natural substances

Highly concentrated amount is necessary to achieve coloring which can led to toxic ingestion.
Many natural "dyes" are merely stains sitting on the fabric. This means that they are not colorfast, can be absorbed through the skin and could leach onto a baby's wet skin or into their mouths.
To make natural dyes color fast, you often need to use a highly-toxic mordant.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND USING NATURAL DYES FOR BABY CARRIERS

A member's beet experiment:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/451531974859163/permalink/649319515080407/

A compilation of research of dyeing with food:

http://www.wearingwoad.com/fugitive-colour-top-five-plants-to-never-use-for-natural-dyes/

On natural dyes:

http://maiwahandprints.blogspot.ca/2013/01/natural-dyes-our-approach.html

http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/naturaldyes.shtml

-- Alyssa Leonard - 2016-07-16