Some of my favorite creations are t-shirts. I am pretty much a t-shirt addict – I love tees that allow me to express myself. I advertise that I am a treehugging, earth-loving, green mama. And that is getting easier & easier now. Even large department stores are selling tees expressing eco-friendly virtues and ideas in so many fun ways. But I always take my purchases one step further – I ask myself “where was this tee made?” and “what is this tee made of?” If I can feel good about the answers to those questions, I pretty much always buy it.
Sometime I see crazy $50 and up tees out there – I am not going to pay extra for some designer name or manufactured “green” statement. But there is one thing I will pay extra for – organic cotton. I love the feel of organic cotton, first of all, but I also love the feeling of knowing I am wearing something that was created free of toxins & chemicals. Something completely natural.
My addiction to tees spreads right into my buying and designing for Soul-Flower. Many of our Soul-Flower tees are designed in house, others are from small, independent artists. And as we continue to bring in more and more tees, our focus is now on organic cotton, bamboo, hemp and other natural fibers. Most of our t-shirts at Soul-Flower are now organic cotton. And I know a lot of you out there wonder, is organic cotton really that different than conventional cotton? I am here to say yes, it is different and BETTER. I did a little research and wanted to pass along what I learned –
Conventional cotton farming is one of the most damaging types of farming towards the environment. Producing cotton uses 25% of all insecticides in the world and 10% of all pesticides. It is second (corn is first) in the amount of chemicals used to produce it. To put it simply, a 100% cotton shirt made from conventional cotton is actually about 75% cotton and 25% yicky chemicals and residues used to produce the cotton. Nobody wants that touching their skin.
When you choose to buy just one t-shirt made from organic cotton (versus conventional cotton), you are saving 1/3 a pound of synthetic fertilizers & pesticides from entering the environment. (These are the same chemicals that 1- damage soil so badly it can’t be farmed 2-harm animals in the vicinity, and 3-ultimately contribute to global warming ). So, that one organic cotton tee you buy supports environmental causes & helps to nourish the earth and the lives of all people involved in the process of growing, manufacturing and distributing the organic cotton. It feels good to wear that!
It might be more expensive, but that is because growing cotton organically takes skill. It takes time & patience. To me, buying organic cotton is worth it, especially for my young children, who are already exposed to so many chemicals & toxins in the environment.
Peace,
Peggy
