Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Reasons to choose greener clothing



In the post previous to this I wrote about organic clothing that I have purchased.
This is an excerpt from an email I received today from Green America:
In 2011, US clothing sales totaled more than $329 billion. 
To me, that's 329 billion reasons to stop buying conventional clothing and turn to green fashion.  It's a big deal, because our clothing choices have huge impacts.  Many of us know already about the problem of overseas sweatshops, or the heavy environmental toll taken by conventional cotton, which uses 25 percent of the world's pesticides. 
But did you know that US clothing companies have also been connected to the trafficking of child slaves in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan?  Or that some of the finishes that conventional companies apply to fabric promote wrinkle- and stain-resistance are known carcinogens or linked to hormone disruption?
For the "Green Fashion" issue of our Green American magazine, our editors tracked down the greenest clothing companies, and exposed the problems in the conventional clothing supply-chain from the fields to store shelves.   Our online feature from this issue, "Green Fabrics and Labels to Look For" will help you find the best clothing for you and your family. 
It is signed Alisa (signature) Alisa Gravitz,
Executive Director,
Green America

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Organic clothing

I like to save tags from products that I buy becuase I have the intention of blogging about them. Problem is I drawers full of tags.

Today while most people might be enjoying the last days of summer on this Labor Day Weekend, I told myself that I was going to clean out my room, especially my "junk drawers.  So here is a quick post about a tag that I found in a drawer. I am about to throw the tag away I purchased a silk and organic cotton sweater two years ago. I like the sweater. It is made by Indigenous Designs, natural fiber clothing.

The tag says it was printed on recycled paper.  And that the company is a member of the Organic Trade Association and the Fair Trade Federation. Remember even if you are purchasing new clothes, you can purchase products that adhere to your values of treading gently on the earth.