Reading The Fine Print

 

Sometimes I wish I could make everything I own.  Most of the time I wish the world was a better place.  I remember a time when it was.  Although I supposed scam artists have been around as long as there have been people.

R and I received a set of sheets for Christmas.  Last week I decided to use them.  The label as you can see says 1500 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton in big bold letters.  

Now mohair has a cotton backing, and I have a LOT of cotton clothing because I have so many allergies.  So I am familiar with what cotton feels like.  As soon as I took the sheets out of the package and touched them I knew something was wrong. They also had an odd chemical smell.

  Thread count is how many threads are woven into a square inch.  Cotton is a natural fiber.  In order to have 1500 cotton threads woven into a square inch the sheets would be quite heavy.  These were the thinnest sheets I had ever seen.  In order to get a thread that thin, it would have to be some sort of a synthetic.  Cotton spun that fine would break when you tried to weave it.

But I put them on anyway, R was tired and ready to go to bed.  A little later I laid down for a nap.  I erupted in INSTANT hives all over my body.  I got back up and pulled the packaging out of the trash.  I read the entire thing.  

The small letters read "Compare the comfort and soft touch as a" 1500 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton Sheet set.  Then more small letters read "Sheets are made of high strength yarns that will stay soft and wrinkle free for years go come"

Now here is the scary part...no where on the packaging or the label sewn into the sheets does it say just what those yarns are made of!  So I did some research online.  One possible answer was petrochemicals!!!  If you aren't familiar with that, it's exactly what it sounds like...a derivative of petroleum.  Not something you want to sleep on.

After R got up I yanked them off the bed and right out to the trash they went. 

In my research I also discovered that the cost of these sheets is quite low.  Far lower than actual 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton would be.  

So I urge you...if something seems too good to be true, it is.  Read the fine print!