[aoisu]

Hello,

I am writing without any experience in the field of chemistry and I hope to find some help here.
Say a clothing company accidentally imports a product with nickel in it's buttons and now needs to either send it back to Asia for a whole button change, or apply some kind of layer that is in accordance with the European law and allows a cheap, fast, and durable (laundry, time etc.) solution to prevent the contact of the nickel with the body.

What do you think?
Thanks!

[Archer]

In order to do this you would probably need to remove the buttons first which is likely to be a huge task from the sounds of it.

Any protective coating would need to be tested to make sure that it conforms to the EU regs, if you supplied something which had not been suitably tested for conformity and someone has a bad reaction then you would be open for prosecution from trading standards (or local equivalent). Personally I think that you would be better off sending them back for replacement.

[aoisu]

In order to do this you would probably need to remove the buttons first which is likely to be a huge task from the sounds of it.

Hello and thanks alot for your answer! Can you please explain:
Why would I need to remove the buttons?
Can't a solution like this one work for example?:
http://nonickel.com/collections/nickel-guard-clinically-proven-nickel-barrier
and if not, why not?

[Archer]

I don't know the style of the buttons or how they are attached but I am imagining that they are sewn on. If this is the case then you would need to remove any thread to ensure that the barrier completely covers the entire button. Any unprotected areas would be a potential problem.

Essentially many organic adhesive or varnish will create a protective barrier that stops the contact of metallic Nickel or inorganic Nickel salts with the skin, but you would need to be able to prove that "Nickel Guard" or similar is still effective after being washed and dried (either on a radiator or in direct sunlight), drycleaned or even just wear from friction against the material.

This would present quite an analytical challenge.

How many washes is acceptable before the garment has to be disposed of? This would be information that a customer would need to be informed of prior to purchase.

[aoisu]

Essentially many organic adhesive or varnish will create a protective barrier that stops the contact of metallic Nickel or inorganic Nickel salts with the skin

Can you please name one product that you think we should check first?

The buttons are actually snap fasteners with only one side exposed to the skin, and that brings me to a new question, do you think a treatment like this (applying a layer) will cause damage to the fabric that the button is stuck in?

Thanks!

[curiouscat]

Why is Nickel banned in clothes' buttons? 

[Arkcon]

As I understand it, the EU has banned the use of nickel in many products, because some people are allergic, and it can sensitize susceptible people into becoming allergic to it and other metals.  Its a funny story, because a certain denomination of Euro coin actually has nickel in it, and coins are something commonly handled.

[billnotgatez]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergic_contact_dermatitis
Allergic contact dermatitis

[curiouscat]

Ah! Thanks.

I think these are idiotic moves. What next will they do? Ban peanuts from cooking?

[cltyler]

As far as I know Nickel causes a higher cancer risk as well. So I think it is not completely stupid to ban it.

[curiouscat]

As far as I know Nickel causes a higher cancer risk as well. So I think it is not completely stupid to ban it.

At the level of exposure of an occasional button rub?