Organic Clothing

Organic clothing. It may be a foreign concept to most people, but it's something of importance. Normal clothing is manufactured using certain processes that are detrimental not only to us, but to the environment as well. The fibers in your clothes are bleached using cholrine. When the chlorine is released into local waterways, the chlorine combines with organic matter to form dioxins, a class of carcinogenic compounds that is incredibly dangerous to humans and wildlife alike. Once the textiles have mixed with the chlorine, chemical dyes are used on them. The conventional dyes are often made in a lab using heavy metals and other harmful chemicals that are dangerous for those creating the fabrics, as well as dangerous for the environment when it leaves the plant. Of particular concern are Azo dyes, used to give some garments their vibrant yellow, reds, and orange colors, which have been linked to cancer. Going by names such as “D&C Red 33” or “Sunset Yellow FCF,” these potential carcinogenic dyes can also be found in foods.

Just like these few problems above, there are many other details that I won't bore you with. Organic clothing however, gives people a solution to the various issues presented with normal clothing.

• Fabrics would be whitened using hydrogen peroxide, an extremely benign oxidant as compared to chlorine

• Natural dyes are used, created from earth born sources such as earthen clays and, plants extracts

• Only low-impact and fiber-reactive dyes, water soluble dyes are allowed

• Heavy metal-free dyes

So next time you're about to buy clothing, look at the tag and see if they're made out of these materials:

• Organic Cotton
• Bamboo
• Hemp
• Silk
• Wool
• Cashmere
• Linen

-greengirl (: