The White T-Shirt Disaster and Deodorant Safety

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I wear a T-shirt every day, and since downsizing to just five, each one must do its part. So when I went to wear my only white T-shirt and discovered dark grey stains all over the armpits, I was a bit bothered. I added the shirt to this week’s load of bleached whites, letting it soak in the washer for a while before the wash cycle. To my shock and horror, the stains did not come out, and the shirt appears to be destined for a future as cleaning rags. Now how, you may wonder, did these strange stains come to be? It appears that they are the result of my all-natural- and very expensive- Dr. Hauschka Rose Deodorant. A true deodorant in roll-on form, it is not an antiperspirant and so contains no aluminum. I am a great fan of many Dr. Hauschka products- face scrub, day cream, eye cream, etc. and never imagined they would contain anything that would react this way with a T-shirt. I am inclined to blame the apparently chemical reaction on the cheap, fast-fashion origins of said T-shirt. Yes, I really did drink the Kool-Aid when I watched The True Cost and am already experiencing remorse over my most recent clothing purchases. The 3-pack of ASOS T-shirts for $24 simply had to have been made in sub-par working conditions with questionable materials in order to be offered at such a bargain price. So I will not be replacing the T-shirt from ASOS, or from any other retailer: I have decided to resurrect my 2 white GAP Factory Tees to be worn layered together. Upon watching The True Cost, I concluded that donating these somewhat worn tops was not a good enough answer anymore. Apparently it would be very unlikely that they would even end up on the thrift shop floor, and most likely would end up in a landfill, either here or in another less-developed country. So I’ve been sitting on them, trying to come up with a better solution. I finally decided that the four LOFT swing tees would eventually replace my current sleep tees once they wear out, and the 2 black and 2 navy GAP Factory tees would eventually become my gym tees when the current ones are unwearable. The white GAP Factory ones I was undecided about, but then lo and behold, they’ve come in handy once again.

But back to the deodorant issue. I started using Dr. Hauschka deodorant as a way to avoid anti-perspirants which contain aluminum. While the jury is still out on whether this aluminum could contribute to breast cancer or Alzheimer’s, the Swiss have passed a bill banning its use in cosmetics. Now I still own some Dove anti-perspirant, as it definitely lasts longer and is more effective for very sweaty days, but I’ve been trying to use it sparingly in case there is actually any truth to the aluminum-related suspicions. I would certainly tolerate being a bit smelly over ending up with Alzheimer’s, so until they come up with anything conclusive, I’m treading carefully. There’s also something really disconcerting about trying to wash off anti-perspirant in the shower and having to soap up three or four times.

But I digress. The real crisis has been averted- I will not go without a white T-shirt. Fast fashion has been defeated (just a little) for today. The only question weighing on all of our minds is: Do the two T-shirts count as one item or two in my capsule wardrobe? I can only wear them together since they are so thin and see-through. Does this mean I can call it one and keep my nice, round 25-item capsule intact? Minimalists everywhere might be outraged- “Cheater!” they’d call me. But I answer to no one but myself in my clothing escapades, and in my minimalist search for truth and happiness. I’ll take some credit for rescuing the older tees and keep my number to 25. Just don’t tell them about my 11 pairs of shoes…