To Dye For Audiobook By Alden Wicker cover art

To Dye For

How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick—and How We Can Fight Back

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To Dye For

By: Alden Wicker
Narrated by: Alden Wicker
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About this listen

A Silent Spring for your wardrobe, To Dye For is a jolting exposé that reveals the true cost of the toxic, largely unregulated chemicals found on most clothing today.

Many of us are aware of the ethical minefield that is fast fashion: the dodgy labor practices, the lax environmental standards, and the mountains of waste piling up on the shores of developing countries. But have you stopped to consider the dangerous effects your clothes are having on your own health? Award-winning journalist Alden Wicker breaks open a story hiding in plain sight: the unregulated toxic chemicals that are likely in your wardrobe right now, how they’re harming you, and what you can do about it.

In To Dye For, Wicker reveals how clothing manufacturers have successfully swept consumers’ concerns under the rug for more than 150 years, and why synthetic fashion and dyes made from fossil fuels are so deeply intertwined with the rise of autoimmune disease, infertility, asthma, eczema, and more. In fact, there’s little to no regulation of the clothes and textiles we wear each day—from uniforms to fast fashion, outdoor gear, and even the face masks that have become ubiquitous in recent years. Wicker explains how we got here, what the stakes are, and what all of us can do in the fight for a safe and healthy wardrobe for all.

©2023 Alden Wicker (P)2023 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

One of Ethos’s 23 Must-Read Climate Change and Environmental Books to Jumpstart You Into Action

One of The Next Big Idea Club's June 2023 Must-Read Books

"Utterly eye-opening and engrossing, you will never look at your clothes the same way again after reading this book. Alden Wicker demystifies the toxic process behind how our clothing is made in page-turning detail."—Amy Odell, author of Anna: The Biography

To Dye For is not just about clothes. It’s an intrepid, long-overdue investigation into the untested and often dangerous chemicals that are in nearly everything we buy, the sobering reality of what these substances are doing to our bodies, and an inspiring call to action for our government to put public safety over the power of the chemical industry.”—Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

"[Wicker’s] mastery of her chosen subject is impressive, while it is her ability to not only enlighten readers regarding the obvious-fashion, she notes, does not come with an ingredient list-but also to drive home the seriousness of her research that makes this a crucial book...Her gripping and deadly serious investigation of this long overlooked topic hits all the right marks. To Dye For should be widely read and has the potential of being a game changer in an increasingly scrutinized industry."—Booklist, starred review

Well-researched Content • Engaging Storytelling • Great Narration • Important Information • Eye-opening Perspective
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good balance of anecdotes, cutting edge early results scientific research and established science. high quality investigative journalism in book format

listen for your health

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I loved this book. The care and detail that went in to her research is astounding. I recommend to all.

This isn’t being talked about enough

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Great narration. I learned so much about textiles and how they affect her every day life

Eye-opening information 

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The author did a great job in pointing out the destruction to our health by chemicals in our clothing. Well presented.

This is an important book

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Must read!!! Buying copies for friends & family. Complete eye opener …. Incredibly well written. Great job Alden!

Riveting!!! Finished it in 3 days!

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this was eye opening to the amount of work that still needs to be done to ensure safety of all products.

corporate greed over health

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This book is very good and is full of important information, and seems to be well researched. It surely is a bit comforting to have some answers for those who are suffering as a result of the chemicals in what seems to be everything. It certainly has an impact on how I go forward purchasing clothing. I did find that the reading of the book was not the best, not speaking completely clear and sounding very tired. That being said, I may listen to this again eventually, and I do recommend this book.

Excellent work

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It’s so nice to hear about MCS in a book! Most people never heard of it. I had it for years and didn’t know about it. The book mentions this really interesting story about this women that had unprotected sx with her husband and she couldn’t get pregnant. She made a lot of changes and with each session she kept getting more and more fertile. That’s another thing that most people don’t know. How chemicals are affecting infertility. I have a couple of friends who have had a hard time getting pregnant to this day. It talks about how flight attendants got sick from their uniforms. I knew a little bit about this, but it went into more depth. It’s so sad that the Alaska male flight attendant died! I personally know 4 FA that were affected by their uniforms! Hopefully this won’t happen anymore in the future. It talks about the horrible conditions that some people are in other countries, the ones that are making the clothes. I love that she recommends using unscented laundry soap! A fragrance free one is better though. People with MCS can smell others laundry in public! I learned a few good things to know too about how bad dry cleaning is! It’s also cool that the writer mentions fume events too! Something else that most people don’t know about and that can affect passengers health too! I hope from now on all airline uniforms are OEKO-TEX certified! I didn’t know that banker workers and TSA also had problems with their uniforms! You can listen to this 36 minute interview with the writer on NPR for a sneak peak of the book

MCS(multiple chemical sensitivities)

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I tell everyone about this book. I loved listening because I can’t sit still long enough to read a physical book. She does such a great job reading and all the work & research she put into this is just amazing. Only disclaimer is it really makes you want to join a nudist colony. Lol

Life changing read

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This book gave technical information about toxic textile chemicals through digestible storytelling. The personal stories and behind the scenes peaks into industry manufacturing was interesting.

Interesting Info

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