W&L alum Alden Wicker said in a campus speech that the Trump administration’s policies threaten the Environmental Protection Agency at a time when it is most needed to regulate the fashion industry.
Wicker, ’09, talked to students and faculty over Zoom on Wednesday about her book “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion is Making Us Sick and How We Can Fight Back.”
Wicker graduated from Washington and Lee with a degree in Mass Communications. She was invited to speak at the university through the Fishback program for visiting writers that annually brings authors to campus. In her book “To Dye For,” published in 2023, Wicker investigates how the chemicals and dyes used in clothes can cause illness.
Wicker said she is concerned about the Trump administration’s handling of the Environmental Protection Agency, especially as it relates to the regulations that govern the use of those chemicals and dyes that she has studied for years.
“The Trump administration has quickly moved to gut the EPA,” she said. “And the Trump administration has installed a former chemical lobbyist as the administrator of the EPA.”
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick for head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has a record of voting against environmental legislation, according to NPR.
Wicker said she is in favor of Trump closing the “de minimis” tariff exemption, a loophole which allows companies like SHEIN to import billions of packages without paying tariffs or having them checked for safety.
While Trump did move to close the loophole as a part of his plan to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, the policy was rolled back, according to CNN. The Commerce Department does not have the resources to impose taxes on or inspect the almost four million packages that arrive from China each day.
Imported clothes from companies like SHEIN pose health concerns as they are treated with harmful chemicals that can cause chemical burns, hair loss and skin cancer, said Wicker.
Wicker works as an investigative journalist and researches sustainable fashion. She dove deeper into the subject of how fashion could make people sick after learning that Delta Airlines flight attendants were experiencing negative health effects from their uniforms in 2019.
“Some of [the flight attendants] became completely disabled just by getting on the plane and being around their colleagues who were wearing the uniforms,” Wicker said.
Wicker says the government should inspect all clothing coming into the U.S. for harmful chemicals. She added that clothing companies should be required to label allergens contained in garments.
Absent government change, Wicker said that there are things that people can do to limit the toxic chemicals they come into contact with through their clothing. She recommends avoiding dry cleaning whenever possible, washing new clothes before wearing them and avoiding synthetic fibers.
When asked by Provost Lena Hill about the dangers of dry-cleaning, Wicker said that the chemicals used in the dry cleaning process can pollute the air inside people’s homes.
Wicker enjoyed hearing the positive changes that people implemented after reading her book.
“I’ve gotten feedback from people who said they’ve read [my book] and they’ve changed the way they shop, and it has improved their life.” Wicker said.
During the Zoom, Wicker told the story of one of her friends, who developed red bumps on her back after wearing synthetic fibers. After reading Wicker’s book and switching to natural fibers, she was able to wear a backless wedding dress.
