I came across your website in a search for safety issues with dyeing.  Thank you for sharing all your expertise.
  My questions is about Jacquard dyes.  An artist friend swears by them, claiming they are less harmful then other dyes.  Is there any truth to her claims?  Most of the information on your site and in books such as Complex Cloth, etc. all refer to MX Procion dyes, not Jacquard.

It makes no sense to claim that Jacquard dyes are safer or more dangerous than any other popular brand of dyes. Let me explain why.

Jacquard is an excellent dye company that sells many different kinds of dyes. One of the types of dye they sell is labeled Jacquard Procion MX dyes. These are exactly the same dyes, no safer and no more dangerous, as the Procion MX type dyes sold by other companies, such as PRO Chemical & Dye, Colorado Wholesale Dyes, Earth Guild, Dharma Trading Company, etc. Incidentally, these dyes are not necessarily manufactured under the Procion name, even if they are labeled as such. Procion MX is the brand name under which the dichlorotriazine type of fiber reactive dye was first introduced, a brand name currently owned by Dystar, but now that they are out of patent, many different manufacturers make them. Currently, 'Procion MX' as a name is being used by many of the dye retailers to refer to dyes that contain the same dye molecules, but which are made by different manufacturers who actually have no legal right to the name. (PRO Chemical & Dye avoids this problem by renaming their Procion MX type dyes "PRO MX dyes"; Dharma Trading refers to them as "Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes".) No one brand of Procion MX dyes is safer or more dangerous than another. Jacquard brand Procion MX dyes are essentially the exact same thing as any other Procion MX dye. In fact, according to rumor, Jacquard sells dyes to other major retailers, such as Dharma Trading Company, and Jacquard has bought their dyes from companies such as Standard Dye. I don't know whether Standard actually manufactures dyes, or merely imports them. There are many manufacturers of dichlorotriazine (Procion MX type) dyes in Asia.

Jacquard also sells many other types of dyes. They sell acid dyes, basic dyes, Procion H dyes (which are different from Procion MX dyes and must be heat-set), and Remazol type dyes (the vinyl sulfones).

Perhaps what your artist friend really means is that Procion MX type dyes are safer than other classes of dye. This may be true. One great advantage of Procion MX dye is that it tends to react immediately with surface layers of skin, and so it is less likely to be absorbed into the body than some other types of dye. Some types of dye can be absorbed directly through the skin, which makes them more dangerous. However, breathing or swallowing particles of dye powder exposes living cells within the body to the dye, which is why it is so very important to wear dust masks or respirators when working with undissolved dye powders, or with fine aerosol mists of dye solutions, in order to prevent breathing in any of the dye. Procion MX dye is known to cause allergies and asthma in people who breathe too much of it. It is also theoretically possible that people who are exposed to large amounts of the dye by repeatedly breathing it or swallowing it might have an increased risk of cancer, primarily bladder cancer. We're not sure that they are not, at any rate.

None of the dyes we use have been fully and properly tested for safety, with the exception of food coloring, which can be used as a textile dye only on protein fibers such as wool, never on cellulose fibers such as cotton. Some dyes are suspected of being somewhat or slightly dangerous; those which are not suspected are certainly not proved safe, however. Even 'natural' dyes include some poisonous chemicals (produced by plants rather than chemical factories), and many of the mordants used with natural dyes are dangerous. What we must do is be reasonably cautious in our use of all dyes - avoid breathing in dye powder, wear gloves while working with dyes, never eat or smoke before washing the hands, and clean up spills promptly - and avoid the more dangerous classes of dye altogether.

Some people think that all-purpose dye, such as Rit brand dye, is the safest type of dye, for no other reason than the fact that it is sold in grocery stores and pharmacies. However, there is no reason to think all-purpose dyes are safer than other types of dyes intended for home use. In fact, into the 1970s, all-purpose dyes for home use are known to have contained some quite dangerous direct dyes. The most hazardous dyes include derivatives of the chemical benzidine, including direct black 1, direct red 28, direct black 38, direct blue 6, direct green 6, direct brown 95, direct brown 2, direct blue 2, and direct black 4. (See the government document "Benzidine and Dyes Metabolized to Benzidine" [PDF].) Some employees of dye manufacturers in the past suffered from bladder cancer that was caused by exposure to benzidine and benzidine-based dyes. (Employees of dye companies are exposed to much higher levels of dyes and their chemical precursors than anyone else.) Fortunately, there are no benzidine-based fiber reactive dyes, which means there are no benzidine-based Procion MX dyes. 

It is no longer the case that benzidine-based dyes are permitted to be used in all-purpose dyes, such as Rit brand dye; unfortunately, all-purpose dye is not labeled as to which specific dyes are included in them, so it is impossible to be sure what they contain. The MSDS for Rit powder dyes [PDF] indicates that they do "not pose a significant risk to health when used according to instructions and with appropriate protective measures"; however, the MSDS ends with the disclaimer that "the company cannot make any warranty or representation respecting the accuracy or completeness of the data, and assumes no responsibility for any liability or damages relating thereto or for advising you regarding the protection of your employees or others. Users should make their own tests to determine the applicability of such information or the suitability of any products for specific use." It seems entirely unfair to expect the average consumer to be able to make tests to determine whether the dyes they use are safe or not, especially when the specific names of the dyes themselves are not disclosed.

Some of another class of dyes, known as basic dyes, are too dangerous for me to want to use them at home or in class, or to recommend that other people use them, as some are carcinogens or mutagens. I know that Jacquard sells basic dyes in their line of Wood & Reed Dyes. I do not know if any of the basic dyes they sell are at all hazardous. It would be safest to assume that they are unless there is evidence to the contrary.

Another dangerous class of dyes is the naphthol dyes (also known as napthol, naphtol, or naptol dyes), which include a number of known or suspected carcinogens among their componants. I won't allow naphthol dye components in my home. They belong only in properly safety-equipped laboratories or studios. Jacquard does not sell naphthol dye components.

Jacquard sells a nice wide range of acid dyes. Some acid dyes are suspected carcinogens or are contaminated with carcinogenic dyes. Jacquard may have avoided including suspect dyes in their acid dye range. They have, laudably, listed the Colour Index names for the exact dyes used in their acid dyes. They say that:
       "Jacquard Acid Dyes are non-toxic when used properly. 
       Common sense and good housekeeping should be used when 
       handling any dye or chemical. Jacquard Acid Dyes are 
       fully certified and conform to ASTM D4236-86."
Unfortunately, it is difficult for the consumer to determine exactly what ASTM D4236-86 says, and they do sell Rhodamine B, a dye whose MSDS page indicates that it may be dangerous. It is still important to be appropriately cautious when working with these dyes, avoiding breathing or swallowing these dyes (including smoking while using them) and carefully avoiding all skin exposure.

Jacquard dyes are not safer or less safe than other brands of dyes used at home and by artists and craftspersons. Procion MX type dyes, including Jacquard brand Procion MX dyes, are safer than some other dyes, but not safe enough for careless handling of dye powders or mists. Since we don't know that they are completely safe, we will assume that they are hazardous, just because we would rather not find out the hard way, years later, that we were mistaken not to do so.

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