The Urban Tee is a classic design that dresses up or down according to your sartorial needs. Add 100% organic cotton to the mix and you have both style and eco design to dress yourself in total comfort. www.NaturalOrganicClothes has a selection of Tee Shirts in Organic Cotton, Soy, and Hemp from the casual to the dressy to fill your closet with clothing that contributes to the support of the environment and your personal needs.
Eco friendly clothing represents a return to safe and sustainable practices. Organic cotton is grown with natural fertilizers and is free from toxic chemicals.
Organic farmers rely on crop rotation to replenish and maintain soil fertility. Mechanical cultivation and botanical or biological means are used to control pests and weeds.
A field must be pesticide-free for at least three years to be certified organic, and the cotton must be processed according to international organic standards.
The standards also set strict guidelines for transportation and storage to avoid cross-contamination. In the U.S., cotton labelled as organic has to be certified by an independent agency recognized by the USDA’s National Organic Program.
As pests develop resistance, farmers desperate to keep up yields often resort to more and more applications of expensive pesticides. The chemical treadmill leaves them heavily in debt, and caught in a vicious circle. Facing barren, devastated fields and contaminated water, many small farmers have been forced to abandon their livelihood altogether.
Organic cotton and organic clothing, on the other hand, is not only safer and healthier for farmers, but also encourages just economic systems in the supply chain. It provides an economically viable and socially acceptable alternative to large-scale farming and dependence on subsidies.
My dad is one of those guys who has worn the same clothes since the 1970’s. For Father’s Day this year, I’m getting him some new clothes. Rather than play into the corporate black hole of buying sweatshop-manufactured wares, I’m buying him some fair trade clothing.
Not only will he FINALLY get some new clothes, but they will be made with ethics.
A friend of mine asked me about the merits of vegan clothing and wondered what the problem with wearing wool was. “They get shaved in the summer,” he said. “If anything, you’re being humane.” Except for the fact that when sheep begin molting, they seldom follow schedules of wool production; in fact, most sheep die due to exposure to extreme heat and cold. This misconception that wool production is “humane” is just an old wives’ tale.
Rather than change the thermostat or use a bulky sweater to add warmth in your home and travels try layering with a comfortable soft hoody. You can now dress in one-hundred percent organic cotton hoody that has the benefit of fibers that use your natural body heat to keep you warm without adding bulk to your dress choices. This same light covering can easily be rolled up and packed away in a bag or back pack for easy storage and transportation therefore reducing space and weight requirements as you travel. The combination of economy and comfort will certainly become a necessary part of being a green consumer as you make clothing choices that keep you healthy and stylish as you reduce your environmental footprint. Green living in your choice of clothing is a positive choice for your personal lifestyle and good stewardship of your environment.
My younger sister is an environmentally and politically conscious young lady. She is a longtime vegan and I really celebrate her strong convictions. I also know that because she lives in a small town, she has difficulty finding fair trade and organic clothes. I’m certain she’s been wearing the same clothes for the last year and a half.
I was surfing the web and I found this great stylish track-inspired jacket for her. Best of all, it’s an organic coat, so it fits my sister’s clothing requirements. I’m getting ready to send it out to her, but there isn’t a doubt in my mind that she’ll love it – not only because it’s a great jacket, but also because no chemicals had been used in the process of production.
Organic cotton is grown using different methods than conventional cotton and is often produced for the purpose of organic clothing. In ordered to be labeled as organic, growers, producers, and manufacturers must follow strict guidelines. Everything about the process is inspected carefully. If any of the standards or guidelines are not met, then the cotton cannot be certified as organic.
The process of making organic cotton begins with the soil. Most organic farmers use soil that is extra rich in nutrients. When the soil is healthy, the plant will be healthy and more resistant to problems that would otherwise require chemicals like pesticides or herbicides.
Farmers create nutritious soil by crop rotation and cover cropping. Crop rotation is a practice in which different crops are rotated among the same fields. By varying the crops in each field, over time, it enriches the soil with different nutrients that help sustain the cotton crop the next time it is planted. Cover cropping is a system of planting crops that cover the soil and help prevent erosion. It also provides nitrogen for the upcoming cotton crop if it is tilled into the soil prior to planting or it can reduce the release of nutrients if planted after the cotton.
There are numerous benefits to growing organic cotton. The main benefit is that there are fewer chemicals in the environment. Research has proven that exposure to harsh chemicals like pesticides can cause mild problems such as headaches and nausea. Prolonged exposure can cause more serious illnesses like cancer or problems with our hormones, nervous system, reproductive system and immune system. Goods grown organically also retain more of their natural nutritional value.
For my birthday this year, my girlfriend bought me an organic bath robe and I have to say that it’s the most comfortable bath robe I’ve ever worn. Now even though I’ve only worn a bath robe a total of three times (one of which was when I was 6 years old), I know comfort and I’m in love with this bamboo bath robe. The material isn’t at all abrasive and if I could get away with wearing it to work, I would.
Purchasing fair trade clothing may seem like something that it’s a trend, but it should be a long-term commitment that can have some really positive effects. Most commercially available clothes are manufactured in sweatshops; even brands that are advertised as sweatshop-free and made in the United States (such as American Apparel), have run into accusations of discouraging their employees from unionizing.
Fair trade clothing ensures that you can be fashionable without having your ethics compromised in anyway. In the end, it’s all a fair game.
