EcoZeal » Robin

On ethical fashion

Robin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:19 +0000

What is ethical fashion, why is it important, and why are we just hearing about it now?

Most clothing available in stores today is produced in an unethical manner using sweatshop and/or child labour to ensure a larger profit margin.

Manufacturers use unsustainable fabrics like non-organic cotton (dubbed as natural, it accounts for almost 25% of all pesticide use) and polyester (which is a petroleum by-product).

They use conventional dying practices which release chlorine, chromium, and other pollutants into the environment posing a health risk to the farmers, assemblers and wearers (7 of the top 15 pesticides used on conventional US cotton crops are “possible” to “known” human carcinogens).

The shift to ethical production practices in the clothing industry has been undeniably important for a long time making the market ripe for a positive change. Consumers are starting to demand better.

Ethical fashion is produced using fairly-paid and fairly-treated adult workers, sustainable fabrics and materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and reclaimed or recycled materials, low-impact fiber-reactive dyes or vegetable dyes, and respect for a healthy environment and/or product for the farmer, the assembler, and the wearer of the clothing.

Simple measures can be taken to achieve big changes by simply switching our buying patterns to include products made of low impact materials.

Positive pressure on businesses who have yet to volutarily clean up their acts is very easily applied by simply choosing not to spend money on their products, and helping – little by little – to grow the businesses who have made an explicit commitment to responsible business practice.

The wonderful thing about the booming ethical fashion industry is the huge variety of designs, colours, cuts, fabrics and sizes now available. Long stigmatized as cousin to the burlap sack, the ethical offerings today are design-oriented.

Designers with heart are creating beautiful, sexy, edgy, classic, current, imaginative, and, yes, flattering pieces – ethics will simply not be compromised and thankfully neither will the look and feel of their work. Reducing our footprint can be done without making any sacrifices.

Source: Ethical Fashion Addicter

Scientist urges, think before buying more clothes

Robin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:15 +0000

Stan Cox, a senior scientist at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas and author of “Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine” says:

We’ve already stockpiled enough clothes to last us for years. The average annual shopping haul swelled from $1,550 per household in 2002 to $1,760 last year. With cheap imports allowing a dollar to buy more, the physical bulk of garb purchased by the average household has risen 18 percent in just five years.

With a constant need to free up closet space for new purchases, the average American discards 68 pounds of clothing and other textiles each year, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

Although 10 million tons of unwanted duds per year puts pressure on U.S. landfills, it’s the origin of the clothes that does the greatest harm. Production of synthetic fabric consumes petroleum, blows out greenhouse gases and spews wastewater bearing organic solvents, heavy metals and poisonous dyes and fiber treatments.

The United States brings in more clothes than the next highest nine importers combined. And by allowing our spinning, weaving and sewing jobs to go to Asia and Latin America, we’ve exported a big pollution problem as well.

Dye effluents often carry toxic metals, among them copper, cobalt, chromium, nickel, zinc, lead, antimony, silver, cadmium and mercury. Bleaching the cloth for a single shirt generates as much as 15 gallons of chlorine-polluted wastewater. Chemicals used in the industry, including anti-wrinkle compounds, can be carcinogenic. In 2002, Italian and American researchers found that risks of nasal, bladder and gastrointestinal cancers among spinners, weavers and dyers were elevated 28 to 126 percent.

“Green” apparel makers are riding to the rescue but getting lost in a stampede. According to the nonprofit trade association Organic Exchange, the global market for organic cotton clothes grew by $1.4 billion—700 percent—from 2001 to 2007. But in the same period Americans alone increased spending on conventional clothes by $29 billion. Like it or not, virtuous-clothing companies are adding to the bulk jamming the nation’s collective closet, not replacing it.

To paraphrase a retail giant’s slogan, we could save money, live better and spend less time on the consumption treadmill simply by not buying so many clothes. That would make for a real holiday bargain.

Source: Counter Punch

Soon you’ll know just how green your clothes really are

Robin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:38 +0000

A new eco-labelling scheme is targeting leading retailers and textile manufacturers with a big promise.

It can, for the first time, certify that their products and every component in them is free from harmful chemicals and has been made in factories which respect the environment and the rights of workers.

The ‘Made in Green’ mark tests and audits textiles and garment production processes throughout the supply chain – including all the component manufacturing centres used to make a product such as yarn, fabric, buttons, zips and sewing threads.

Clothing or textile items passing the tests are awarded a ‘Made in Green’ label which indicates to consumers that the product has been produced in accordance with social responsibility, ecological and environmental guidelines. Asif Shah works for Shirley Technologies (STL), the textile testing group that is licensed to carry out the certification in the UK and Europe. He had this to say:

“Unless a retailer or manufacturer knows where to look, they are unlikely to find the problems in auditing and tracking supplier chains in the textile industry. The advantage of Made in Green is that it tests the product range, audits the processing in the factory, audits the environmental impact and ensures compliance with social responsibility guidelines all at once. The testing and audit process involves three elements:

Oeko-Tex 100 certification which guarantees products do not contain substances harmful to health;

Oeko-Tex 1000 or equivalent, which confirms current environmental legislation compliance; and

CCRS-AITEX or equivalent, which ensures compliance with social responsibility guidelines, including child labour.”

A company’s Made in Green status will be reviewed and audited annually and, because it is third party independent verification, they will be able to offer to ensure validity and authenticity. Raising consumer awareness is another key component of the scheme.

Shah concludes: “Our vision for Made in Green is a long-term one; we view it as a green quality stamp for companies. We would like to think that in the future consumers will be able to recognise Made in Green just as they would other quality labels.”

Source: Daisy Green

Eco friendly mattresses

Robin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:30 +0000

There are a number of reasons why a person might want to make the switch from a conventional mattress to an eco-sensitive mattress.
Sarah Barnard, a Los Angeles-based eco-friendly interior designer, says: “When we consider how much of our lives we spend in our bedrooms, and specifically how our bodies regenerate during sleep, it’s easily understood how a mattress made of petroleum-based materials is less than desirable.”

Many mattresses bought before 2004 may contain fire retardant chemicals that are known carcinogens. Mattresses treated for dust mites also may have been dipped in pesticides. Non-organic sheets may be treated with chlorine, while other bedding materials such as microfiber, polyester and goose down/feathers have also been found to irritate some people.

“A completely natural bed can often provide improved air quality and make a marked improvement for chemically sensitive people and/or people who suffer from allergies,” says Barnard.

The more popular eco-sensitive bedding solutions include organic wool (which is a natural fire retardant and inhospitable to dust mites), organic cotton (which is pesticide free), natural rubber, kapok (a fiber from tree pods that has a natural resistance to dust mites) and natural latex. Alternative materials are gaining popularity and are becoming easier to find,” says Barnard.

Mattress chains like Gardena, Calif.-headquartered Sit ‘n Sleep carry a limited selection, while a growing number of eco-boutique stores like Denizen Design Gallery in Los Angeles carry brands like Savvy Rest which offers a line of certified organic pillows and mattresses – one of which was recently purchased by one of Barnard’s clients:

“We can barely keep up with the demand,” says Laura Wallace, a spokeswoman for the Savvy Sleeper & Savvy Rest in Charlottesville, Va. “Just so far this year, we’ve added 18 or 19 new dealers in other states. Last year, we added 11.”

Wallace and Barnard offered several tips for shoppers looking for eco-sensitive bedding. For wool and cotton, Wallace says to look for certified organic. “Anybody can call anything ‘organic’,” Wallace says. “Petroleum is organic, for that matter. Does that mean you’d want to sleep in it?”

“If you have the option of a simple but very comfortable mattress made of natural rubber, wrapped in a casing made of organic wool fiber quilted between layers of organic cotton fabric, it’s a wonderful choice to make,” Wallace says. Comfort is a very personal experience, Barnard adds. Natural latex mattresses, she points out, do have a somewhat different feel.

“Finding a balance between comfort, health and responsible purchasing can be tricky but is achievable,” Barnard says. “Ask around, read consumer surveys and make sure the bed that you purchase has an included ‘comfort exchange guarantee.’”

Source: philly.com

Focus on Lotus Bèbè

Robin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:20 +0000

LotusBèbè, created by Mommy Entrepreneur Kathleen Raulin. who said, “I couldn’t find stylish baby accessories that were also environmentally friendly for my own son. There were very few options out there, and what I found was pretty boring,” uses bamboo and soybean fabrics.

Bamboo is a natural textile made from the pulp of the bamboo grass. Bamboo is by nature pest resistant and grown naturally without the use of pesticides or fertilizers and uses very little rain water.

Bamboo also regenerates quickly and can be harvested repeatedly. The soybean fabric is produced by using the leftover dregs of tofu and soybean oil production and spinning the proteins into threads.

Soybean is sustainable because it uses what would have been waste and turning it into something useful, namely soybean fabric. Both these fabrics naturally resist bacteria, keep out harmful UV rays, and are biodegradable.

Lotus Bèbè was created in Southern California, in 2008, out of a need for stylish baby accessories that were also environmentally friendly. They discovered the unique properties of bamboo and soybean fabrics and started looking for items made with either.

Trying to find items made from bamboo and soybean was challenging, due to the fact that no one was carrying these items. So the idea of Lotus Bèbè was started.

The product line was launched with hip mommas and poppas in mind, who want to give their children something natural, eco-friendly but at the same time luxurious.

Visit Lotus Bèbè

Hemp becoming more mainstream

Robin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:40 +0000

An industrial hemp blended yarn has been successfully spun on conventional cotton ring-spinning equipment without modification and then knitted into jersey fabrics in trials sponsored by Hanesbrands Inc.

The hemp yarns were spun at North Carolina State University using fibres made with the ‘Crailar’ enzyme process from Naturally Advanced Technology, which uses enzyme technology to produce soft, comfortable textiles made from hemp and bast fibres that can better compete with cotton.

Tim Pleasants, Spun Yarn Lab Manager, NC State University, said, “We successfully carded and spun a blended Crailar yarn on our cotton ring spinning system. The resulting 20/1 Ne ring spun yarn was knitted into a 5-ounces per square yard jersey fabric.

This is the first time in my 23-year yarn spinning career that I have seen hemp processed on conventional cotton spinning equipment.”

Earlier this summer, British Colombia-based Naturally Advanced Technologies (NAT) raised nearly US$2 million through a private placement of its shares and more recently signed a new promotional deal with Costco’s US stores.

“Crailar’s success on the cotton system elevates hemp fibre from a niche market to the mainstream cotton market through the traditional supply chain, which enables mass production,” claimed Ken Barker, CEO of NAT. “Crailar employs a simple, efficient 100% organic, enzyme bath and scales easily to leverage the global industrial hemp industry. In addition, Crailar Organic Fiber will be cost-comparable to organic cotton. Therefore, Crailar enables the transformation of hemp into a better sustainable alternative to organic cotton.”

The company expects to send its first organic and hemp-based Crailar fabrics into production in the first quarter of 2009, with hopes of hitting the market in fall 2009.

Source: Eco Textile News

Focus on We Are the Earth

Robin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:36 +0000

Tiffany Parks, owner of Wear The Earth, has broken the stereotype that many people have about sustainable materials.
Contrary to popular belief, the eco-friendly clothing line she resells is very soft and delicate. UNLV student Patricia Peliciotti said she has heard about this type of clothing, but never really thought it could appeal to her.

Parks’ collection consists mainly of women’s apparel, but there are some items for contemporary men.

“My target is someone who is going to college and will put an environmental top with a pair of jeans and look cute and fashionable,” Parks said.

Eco-friendly clothes can be made largely from bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, soy and lyocell. There are some requirements for a piece of clothing to be considered truly “green.” “It was a long process to find the right inventory. We needed to make sure they were legitimate,” Parks said. She also said she constantly advises her costumers to be aware of imitations and fakes.

Eco-friendly clothes have to be made from a sustainable fabric and they cannot come from sweat-shops. Organic cotton, for example, has very little impact on the environment. It is not bleached, dyed or chemically treated. For it to be labeled as organic, it also has to be pesticide-free for at least three years.

Hemp is one of the strongest fibers. It enables sustainability and prevents erosion on farmed land. It is also very resistant to insects, so pesticides are not needed. Fertilizers are not needed as well because the plant grows very vigorously by itself.

Bamboo is another natural, renewable source. It is best known for its silky, cashmere-like feel and its antimicrobial qualities. “The minute you put that one thing on, you realize that you don’t want to take it off, ever. It’s like wearing pajamas all the time,” Parks said.

Despite all the good aspects, the price for green fashions is not so friendly. “There’s a reason why it’s a little bit more expensive. It’s going to last a lot longer because it’s organic,” Parks said.

Parks did an experiment at home with a sustainable T-shirt and a regular T-shirt. The results were amazing. The regular T-shirt shrank, got stains and lost its appeal. The organic shirt looked new and kept its form a lot longer.

Source: The Rebel Yell
Visit wearetheearth.com

A new standard for recycled textiles

Robin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:11 +0000

In response to strong demand from brands and retailers, Control Union Certifications has launched the first Global Recycling Standard for textiles and clothing to ensure greater sourcing clarity right through the production supply chain.
The new standard is a three-tiered system with a bronze, silver and gold level standard based on the amount of recycled content in any one given product. The top level Gold standard requires that products containing between 95 – 100% recycled material, while Silver labelled products are made of up between 70 – 95% recycled product. Products labelled with the Bronze GRS logo have to have a recycled content of no less than 30%.

In all cases the products will have to display the percentage of recycled content and may be labelled with the appropriate gold, silver of bronze GRS logos.

“The launch of the Global Recycled Standard is in response to an increasing desire from the textile industry to back up claims that can be made regarding recycled products,” said Mark Prosé of Control Union Certifications, “the backbone of the standard is a track-and-trace system to back up such claims made by mills and brands about the level of recycled product.”

For tracking and tracing Control Union says it will use a transaction certification system instead of a virtual on-line system because it says that not everyone in the supply chain will want to disclose cost or any confidentiality.

Under this standard the use of the recycled materials in textile will be based on criteria already laid down by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). The standard also includes environmental processing criteria in addition to raw material specifications. This includes strict waste water treatment requirements and chemicals use based on the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and the Oeko-Tex 100.

An element of social responsibility is also incorporated into GRS, which ensures workers’ health ahd safety and upholds workers’ labour rights in accordance with the International Labor Organisation (ILO) criteria. The GRS is intended for global use, but has been kicked off in the Far East to start with and is combined effort from Control Union in the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Korea.

Source: Eco Textile News

On the growth of organic cotton

Robin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:21 +0000

Organic cotton production is the only farming system by which cotton is produced entirely free of chemical pesticides – and thereby without the risks that such chemicals pose to human health and the environment.

Over the last few decades organic cotton production has grown from just 30 farmers producing 113 tonnes of cotton fibre, to a global total of more than 31000 tonnes. While these figures represent only a small fraction (0.15%) of world cotton production, they represent an important proof of principle that contemporary cotton production can occur without the use of hazardous pesticides.

Cotton, the most important fibre crop of India plays a dominant role in its agrarian and industrial economy. It is the backbone of our textile industry, accounting for 70% of total fibre consumption in textile sector, and 38% of the country’s export. Area under cotton cultivation in India is the highest in the world – 25% of the world area and employs seven million people for their living.

Demand for organic products among Western consumers is substantial, and growing. In a 2005 survey prepared by Ipsos MORI almost half of British consumers reported buying organic products, with many registering environmental concerns among those that shape the way they shop.

In 2003, UK market growth for organic cotton was estimated at 38% per year, and continues to grow at a steady rate. To add to this, major clothing retailers, including Wal-Mart, Harrods, Marks and Spencer, Coop Switzerland and Italia, Migros, and Monoprix are all now offering organic clothing ranges.

The growth in sales of organic cotton products is greatly enhanced by the existence of comprehensive labeling systems which enable consumers in the developed world to make informed choices about the type of cotton they wish to purchase.

This vital connection, which endows the global cotton supply chain with a degree of transparency and traceability, may be our best hope to date of harnessing the concerns of those in the West as a powerful economic force for improving the lives of the million of people who work to grow cotton in the developing world.

Source: Development Demographics

On sustainable fashion

Robin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:11 +0000

From the largest fashion houses in the world, right down to the local street fashion of any city, sustainable fashion has become the underlying thread in the style that is emerging in the 21st century.

There are many things that can make apparel or accessories sustainable. Take, for instance the choice to use recycled or upcycled used or otherwise “vintage” clothes to create new and modern styles. This can take the form of clothing that is lightly altered or repaired to be salable, or a complete transformation that can turn something that wasn’t even meant as clothing into the height of sustainable fashion.

Another thing to remember when choosing clothing according to a sustainable fashion ethic is the source of the raw materials. Consider that over half of the pesticides used in the US are applied to the domestic cotton crop. Even when using new materials, you can choose natural, organic fibers that do not use petroleum derived nutrients and don’t pollute the land and water with pesticide residues.

Consider also the fate of those who have to work in mills that process, spin and weave fabrics that contain high levels of pesticides. The suffering and work conditions of the people who make sustainable fashion is also important. Workers rights at factories that manufacture materials or apparel are just as important in this movement as the composition of the garment or accessory.

Of course, synthetic fabrics are made from petroleum, further adding to your personal carbon and waste footprint. By way of comparison, natural fibers are not a waste disposal problem or a toxic threat to anyone. Among the most popular natural fibers are silk, linen (made from flax), cotton, wool, hemp, sisal, bamboo and jute.

The sustainable fashion movement also strives to eliminate unnecessary carbon emissions wherever possible. This can mean choosing a synthetic fabric over a cotton that would otherwise be shipped for 10,000 miles. Tough choices have to be made between what is the greatest sum gain for any piece of clothing.

Clothes swapping, for instance, is a popular new trend where people either get together online, at giant swap meets or at intimate parties and trade their unloved clothes for better and “new to them” sustainable fashion.

The only carbon that is burned in such exchanges are the electrons that keep the computers running and postal delivery. A party where the participants took their bicycles would eliminate carbon emissions (besides breath) entirely. In comparison to the multi-national game of shipping materials between foreign countries with poor human rights records, this practice is particularly gentle.

Upcycling is also a benign way to use items and apparel that would otherwise go to waste and turn it into something uniquely fashionable. An emerging trend is to have garments sewn especially for you, and some people are doing this with recycled clothing. This type of sustainable fashion mixes creativity with necessity to create style on the cheap and save the planet.

Fashion isn’t going away and there’s no reason it should. People may have to change a few ideas about what constitutes a shopping excursion, but sustainable fashion is part of a much larger commitment to a sustainable lifestyle that is conscious of the ecological impact of all our actions, right down to our closets.

Source: Sustainable Development