Just in time for holiday gift giving, Victoria’s Secret has aired their annual holiday fashion show, but before you run and add a sexy little number to your Christmas list, read on.

ABC News has released a story stating that several women have now come forward complaining of “welts that were very red, hot to the touch, extremely inflamed, blistery”. These women had all purchased the same bra types from Victoria’s Secret and have since joined forces in a class action lawsuit against the lingere designer. Shockingly enough, the bras were tested and were found to have traces of formaldehyde!

Why would formaldehyde be used in bras?

In general, formaldehyde is used in fabrics for anti-cling, anti-static, anti-wrinkle, and anti-shrink, waterproofing and stain resistance, perspiration proofing etc…

Formaldehyde, for all its benefits, is also listed as a “probable carcinogen.” And, unfortunately, the United States is more lax about its regulation than most other countries. For example, “low level” of acceptable formaldehyde in Japan is 75 ppm, whereas the U.S. “low level” of acceptable formaldehyde is near 300 ppm. (Dr. Mercola)

What’s a girl to do?

According to the American Contact Dermatitis Society, rayon, blended cotton, corduroy, wrinkle-resistant 100 percent cotton, and any synthetic blended polymer are likely to have been treated with formaldehyde resins. I can only summize that the healthiest solution here is to either let the girls hang free or buy only organic cotton. What a shame!