Organic fashion
Organic fashion refers to clothes or designer bags etc which have been produced with a minimum of chemicals and thereby damage to the environment. That includes chemicals used in every step in the process. From the growing of cotton, to dying and finishing the fabric.
Eco fashion
Eco fashion means clothing which has been manufactured with environmentally-friendly processes. These include organic clothing. Eco fashion clothing and designer bags for example can use recycledmaterials such as eco-fleece which is produced from recycled plastic drinks bottles. Eco fashion, by the way is not necessarily made from organic fibres.
Why Would You Support Organic and Eco Fashion?
The fashion industry has an huge impact on the environment. A large percentage of the clothes we wear these days are made from synthetic materials. Nylon and polyester are produced from petrochemicals which pollute the environment and cause global warming. They are also non-biodegradable. That means they don't naturally break down easily which makes them difficult to dispose of. During the manufacture nylon, nitrous oxide is released and this is a greenhouse gas that is 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide.
Viscose, another artificial fibre, is made from wood pulp which is treated with toxic chemicals such as caustic soda and sulphuric acid. Nice!
Natural fibres do have their problems, too. Cotton growers use more pesticide per cotton plant than almost any other crop worldwide. This creates serious impacts, causing illness and even death amongst cotton farmers who are exposed to them every day. I'd like to say it serves them fucking right. These pesticides also affect local eco-systems and kill certain plants and animals causing an imbalance in nature. Chemicals used in the growing of cotton remain in the fabric and are released during the lifetime of the garments. They affect the people who wear the clothes too.
Hazardous chemicals are also used on wool. For example sheep dips have been linked with illness amongst sheep farmers.
If that wasn't enough, certain dyes are believed to cause cancer. In many countries, garments are dyed or bleached using toxic chemicals without proper precautions. These chemicals can then affect workers. They also flow into sewers and rivers, damaging the local ecosystems.
Virtually all polycotton (especially bedlinen), as well as "easy care", "crease resistant" and "permanent press" cotton are treated with formaldehyde, another toxic chemical.
About Organic and Eco-Friendly Fabrics and Dyes
Organic cottonOrganic cotton garments are also mostly free from chlorine bleaches and synthetic dyes.
Hemp
Hemp is an eco-friendly crop. It needs few or no agri-chemicals to grow successfully and at the same time it binds, improves and enriches the soil with its deep roots.
Linen
Linen, which is made from flax (another traditional fibre crop) also needs fewer chemical fertilisers and less pesticide than cotton.
Organic wool
Organic wool is increasingly being made available. It is produced using sustainable farming practices and without those toxic sheep dips.
Natural dyes
Natural dyes are made from common plants, vegetables and roots. A wide variety of colour-fast pigments can be created in this way.
So think about what you buy when you think about fashion and designer bags. There are alternatives to the earth killing processes that we have grown unhealthily accustomed to. In fact there is a great environmentally aware online store that is worthwhile looking at to get some great alternative designer bag ideas and that's LittleEarth. Here's a link to one of their special offers:
Wear a Work of Art, Buy a Designer K. Lianna for Littlearth Purse
Try it our for yourself, or see the banner in the sidebar.
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