Organic, Carbon Neutral T-Shirts?
Is what you're wearing "fair wear"? How do you know if your fabric is "green"?
Sherrie Coleman, Saltmotion
‘Eat organic’, ‘only buy fair trade’, ‘reduce your carbon footprint’, ‘floss daily’ – and now we have to think about what we’re wearing as well? Yes. Well, no, but ethically, yes.
Take the harmless T-shirt. Wash & wear, repeat a hundred times and then finally, after years of loyalty, your tee makes it's way to your local charity bin or becomes your new car wash rag. Seems harmless.
So, what’s this new hype about organic cotton, then? Well, it’s what happens at the grassroots when the cotton isn’t organic that the real difference and true costs lay.
A few statistics about organic apparel to consider:
- Conventionally grown cotton accounts for more than 25% of worldwide insecticide use and 10% of the pesticides. Pesticides used in cotton production are among the most hazardous available.
- Millions of children receive up to 35% of their estimated lifetime dose of some carcinogenic pesticides by the age of five through food, contaminated drinking water, household use and pesticide drift.
- It can take up to one pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to conventionally grow the three pounds of cotton needed to make a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
- Pesticides used on cotton cause acute poisonings and chronic illness to farm workers worldwide. Acute respiratory symptoms and other health effects in communities surrounding cotton farms are linked to high use of defoliation chemicals.
Organic vs. Non-organic Cotton
So buying organic cotton isn’t necessarily about what you’re wearing, although we’ve certainly found that it’s softer, more durable and longer lasting; it’s about what you’re supporting by buying non-organic cotton. It’s about broadening our vision to the entire supply chain, rather than simply looking on the clothing rack in our local shops.
>>Check Out the Entire Range of Saltmotion Organic Apparel Today!
Some businesses have made the conscious decision and commitment to be ecological; to be gentle and respectful of our planet. The team at Saltmotion, in Manly, have made this commitment and offer an organic T-shirt range that is also Carbon Neutral as well as “Fair Wear”.
Fair Wear Foundation
Saltmotion organic tee shirts are carbon neutral by the way of using renewable energy and low impact farming techniques and certified by the Fair Wear Foundation, the Fair Trade body that regulates the clothing industry to ensure that working conditions are safe and free of pesticides, exclude child labour, excessive working hours and unhygienic working conditions.
Pressure to quickly produce increasing quantities of cheap textiles has lead the clothing industry to allow some of the most unethical trade practices on the planet.
To ensure that Saltmotion does not contribute to the social injustice seen in manufacturing, commonly known as sweatshop labour, they support only Fair Wear Foundation textiles which have made transparent their manufacturing supply chain with independent audits by the non-profit organization.
There’s a lot going on, at any one moment, in the world, in our heads, in our lives and I appreciate that you simply cannot take everything on. For the most part, though, we do what we can and open our eyes, little by little to those situations that present themselves to us in bite-sized chunks. That’s what this article is. It’s a little, bite-sized, eye opener and something to consider when you’re doing your Christmas shopping this year.
>>Check Out the Entire Range of Saltmotion Organic Apparel Today!
For more information on Fair Wear Foundation go to www.fairwear.org
