Why Organic clothing?
| May 9, 2011 | Filled under kids clothing reviews, reviews |
I have been wondering if we truly need organic clothing. With food, it is much simpler. We want to limit intake of pesticides by buying organic produce, or at least buying organic produce which made it to the dirty dozen list. We want hormone-free milk, grass-fed beef, and carbon-monoxide-free fish.
How do we figure out what is important in clothing? This is where I turn to experts. Mark Fishbein, a print and dye professional shares some facts about organic cotton:
- More than a quarter of the pesticides used is for cotton growing
- Half the pesticides used are known carcinogens
- A Third of a pound of pesticides is used to make every t-shirt in America
- Only 3% of the annual global harvest is certified organic
- A three year process is required to convert contaminated cotton fields to organic.
However, to make clothing organic, using organic cotton is not enough. Both materials and dyes need to be organic.
Unfortunately, the ink used for clothing may be dangerous as well. Inks that contain binders, plasticizers, softeners, and specialty finishes have some propensity, from mild to severely dangerous, to have contact with the skin that can absorbed in the body of the wearer through the skin. Small children sometimes suck on clothing and this oral route adds yet another danger.
IMAGINE GreenWear is one of the few companies which combines certified organic cotton and eco-friendly seaweed base dyes to make sportswear for kids. The dyes used by IMAGINE GreenWear are safe for the most delicate skin and the environment.
In addition, IMAGINE GreenWear is comfortable, soft, never scratchy, and washable. All IMAGINE GreenWear garments are bright, fashionable, and stylish. The main goal of this brand is to make great designs which the kids and parents love, and not just print eco-slogans (“save the planet”, “go green” etc) as the product IS the message.
We loved colorful prints and fun designs. My preschooler wanted to make drawings with flowers “just like on her shirt”. Shirts. skirts, and clam diggers are all mix-and-match, which makes it easy to create complete outfits.
Review Disclaimer: we received IMAGINE GreenWear products for review.
