Pardon my naivete, but I had no idea people used or wore any new soft goods without washing! - eeeuuwww, how could you?

I am always too excited to wash them first, but after reading this I may have to.

oh no... i love new clothes scent.

Thanks for the gross info. Takes the fun out of shopping. Guess I will have to make my own clothes.

I can attest that even in the cleanest clothing manufacturing plant, clothes will have dust and dirt, and been handled often and, as cloth, spent time on the floor. At 17, just out of high school, before the military and college, I worked briefly at a sewing factory. And, yes, I'm a guy. I did odd jobs and later shipping. I joke that I had 60 mothers. When the clothes went to pressing and steaming there were chemicals used. I didn't know which.

Sizing,loose and threads,are mostly found in new clothes. Never wash new blue jeans with any whites,the color from the jeans will transfer,giving you blue socks and T shirts.

I wash everything that another human or tiny human might have touched...just go to a buffet and see how people are nasty around food...around clothes and household items, I am sure they are worse...fabrics from the crafting stores also need to be pre-washed for sizing and over dyeing...

Jewelry should be cleaned because people do try them on as well..

Bugs, chemicals, dirt, etc....

There are things I microwave as well...Spanish Moss, raffia, straw, etc.

I have sensitive skin, guess I've been lucky! And those bugs, I thought they came off me!

Thanks, I haven't yet gotten over the idea that library books might contain bedbugs!

Good idea. I just picked up a couple of activewear t-shirts and some jogging pants, and I was wondering if I should wash them before putting them on. The pants have some slight staining at one cuff, so I was going to wash those right away, but now I'll throw the shirts in also. Thanks for the info.

The semi trucks that carry products especially products brought from overseas are pumped full of pesticides. In some cases, the items inside the trucks are in that confined space for months at a time. The pesticides inundate the cardboard and plastics sheathing the items. The pesticides get onto the items which if unwashed can cause rashes. I know this from working in factories and unloading trucks.

Good to know.......