Men's Dress Shirt Slim Fit Non Iron vs Men's Force Relaxed Fit Short-Sleeve Pocket T-Shirt: which is safer?

Carhartt Men's Force Relaxed Fit Short-Sleeve Pocket T-Shirt is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

Calvin Klein Men's Dress Shirt Slim Fit Non Iron

Calvin Klein

Men's Dress Shirt Slim Fit Non Iron

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 2/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

cotton blend with durable press/non-iron finish

Confidence

35%

PossibleFormaldehyde resins in durable-press finish

ReportedCoating degradation and microfiber shedding

PossibleChlorine bleach sensitivity in treated fabric

Our pick

Carhartt Men's Force Relaxed Fit Short-Sleeve Pocket T-Shirt

Carhartt

Men's Force Relaxed Fit Short-Sleeve Pocket T-Shirt

PFAS grade

Good 65/100

Overall grade

Good 57/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

100% cotton jersey knit, untreated

Confidence

78%

PossibleAzo dyes

PossibleMicrofiber shedding

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Formaldehyde resins in durable-press finish, Coating degradation and microfiber shedding and Chlorine bleach sensitivity in treated fabric on the Calvin Klein and not on the Carhartt.
  • We flag Azo dyes and Microfiber shedding on the Carhartt and not on the Calvin Klein.
  • The Calvin Klein is cotton blend with durable press/non-iron finish where the Carhartt is 100% cotton jersey knit, untreated, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Carhartt is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Calvin Klein grade, at 35% confidence against 78%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More waterproof sports undergarments: see the full ranking