Formaldehyde to control silverfish....

It's not the fabric, it's the treatment they put on at the end to make it crisp and have body. I will wash off.

Fumes, dust, their cleaning products, etc., etc. Could be anything.......maybe to do with fabric and maybe not.

I have a problem in the dept.stores -the sizing they use on clothes ,especially jeans takes my breath away.We have 2 JoAnns I can't shop in-one store has a barrel of Cinnamon scented pine cones it is over powering And the other one burns incense sticks.The fabrics from both stores stink even after several washings with Fabreze.So the deals I thought I got cost me a fortune in electric-water-soap-and fabreze.

It is very possible. Our local shop owner is allergic to fabric and has to wear gloves in order to cut the fabric.

That is why I always take an allergy pill before going into a fabric shop plus I almost always wash my fabrics. Some fabrics do not have the STRONG chemical smell. (By the way, I never was this affected until I started taking Plavix for my heart. Plavix brings out the metals and chemicals in all types of items....especially foods...I can taste and smell the chemicals in Cheerios....terrible since I love them.)

Depending on which JoAnn's with me. Not sure why......... My problem is Hancock Fabrics, I always blamed it on the lighting, because I would get such a headache and felt like I could be sick.

There is a sizing they use on the fabric to print with. It is made with formaldihide. I am very allergic to it and always have to wash fabric before I start cutting.

I developed asthma in my 50's and had to go with allergy shots and inhalers etc. That was when I started quilting
and spending more time (and money)in smaller quilt shops. If I took a class in one,I had to use my inhaler while I was there. After testing, it was formaldehyde that was a trigger. It is used constantly in several forms as a preservative and insect repellant,my doctor said. I always washed my fabric before making clothes, so I continued that with quilting fabric.

Another allergen for one child was the flame retardant on pajamas; I washed twice before he could wear them and then it was okay.He is allergic to many things now that he is grown and his 30's have been full of new allergens.

Absolutely.
One of the main reasons I wash all fabrics that come into my home.