Focus on We Are the Earth
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.
“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.”
- This definition of organic cotton is not quite accurate. GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) allows for chemical processing of organic cotton. Low-impact or Eco-friendly dyes are derived from synthetic petro-chemicals, and while better controled, they are still chemical dyes.
We applaud all brands and companies that use organic cotton, whether chemically processed or not. Conventional cotton is extremely hard on the planet and the farmers. But… we caution people too quick to assume that just because the cotton was grown organically, that is was also PROCESSED organically. Virtually all of the organic cotton on the market today is dyed and processed with thousands of synthetic chemicals…
Check out Truly Organic, which uses only 100% naturally dyed organic cotton. No synthetic chemicals are used at any step in the process. http://www.truly-organic.com
Food for thought.
I totally agree with Paul. It is so important to do your research. There is a great little store called embodies (www.embodies.com) that carries all organic/earth friendly/sustainable/recycled/etc… clothing. I have had some long talks with the owner of the store about issues like this. it is so difficult to find clothes that are completely organic/earth friendly- grown, processed, even packaged. All we can do as consumers is keep an eye out and support the effort wherever we can! That will inspire change in the clothing industry.