Heavy metals in leathers, artificial leathers, and textiles in the context of quality and safety of use

The article presents research findings on the content of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and zinc in extracts from leathers, artificial leathers intended for footwear components, and textiles. After extracting the metals using an artificial acidic sweat solution, their contents were quantitatively determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. In the cotton textiles, the metal contents were in accordance with the OEKO-TEX limits, while regarding the artificial leathers, only the acrylic knit fur had a too high chromium content (1.1 mg/kg) as compared with the requirements of the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX for products intended for children (< 1.0 mg/kg). The chromium content in lining and upper leather (> 228.0 mg/kg) exceeds the limits for children’s products (< 2.0 mg/kg), but also the less restrictive ones for other products (< 200.0 mg/kg). Regarding the other metals, the leathers met the OEKO-TEX requirements. Approved materials may have elevated heavy metal contents, as demonstrated for chromium. The presence of heavy metals in too large amounts in products is a serious problem due to their allergenic and toxic effect. Therefore, action should be taken aimed at more effective detection and elimination of such products from markets and at reducing the use of chemicals containing harmful metals in manufacturing processes.