Organic cotton. (Shirtseed)

Reduce, reuse, recycle. The longstanding mantra of the green movement has now made its way into the clothing industry. Now, you can not only eat organic foods but also wear fabrics made entirely from organic materials.

Take a simple Hanes cotton t-shirt. One-quarter of a pound of pesticides goes into the production of the cotton fiber. On top of that, colored dyes in the t-shirt are derived from toxic materials. Over a lifetime, that shirt will go through several dozen trips to the laundry room that will further add to the amount of carbon in the earth’s atmosphere.

Organic cotton , however, reduces your ecological footprint. In addition to being produced without pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, organic cotton is often allergy free. Sales of the material have doubled to over $580 million over a four year period from 2001 to 2005.

Good news, considering that worldwide cotton-growing releases more pesticides into the environment than any other crop–accounting for roughly one-quarter of total pesticide use . In the U.S. alone, cotton growers emit more than 50 million pounds of harmful pesticides annually into the environment.

Apart from the obvious snob factor, wearing organic cotton reduces the amount of pesticides in the environment and often promotes fair labor policies. American Apparel , for example, markets an organic and fair trade cotton line. While you might gripe at the price tags, you can be assured that your money’s not entangled in overseas sweatshop labor. The company proudly asserts that all its employees receive paid leave, ESL classes, and on-site massages . After half a year’s worth of employment, sewers have the chance to make up to $15 an hour, way above minimum wage or the hourly wage of 9 cents afforded to some laborers overseas.

Another company, Patagonia markets recycled and sustainable fabrics. The fleece in some jackets, for instance, comes from plastic bottles that have been recycled and processed. Wal-Mart, too, has also entered the organic cotton trade. Since Wal-Mart entered the scene, it’s squeezed out Patagonia as the world’s largest buyer of organic cotton fabrics. Slowly, organic cotton is making a dent in the market. And as the market broadens, be sure to grab a piece of the pie and buy your own environmentally sustainable tee.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 at 10:46 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.