How "Green" is your fashion?

Going Green in the Fashion Industry

“The Touch, the feel of cotton; the fabric of our lives.”  These are the words you hear in TV ads for the cotton industry. So my question is: “what about organic cotton?” Cotton is a natural fiber, so isn’t all cotton organic?
     Merriam-Webster dictionary defines organic: ”a (1) : of, relating to, or derived from living organisms (2) : relating to, yielding, dealing in, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides <organic stores> “   

            Many of us have a heighten awareness of what “organic” means when it comes to our food, but what about our clothing? Often times, when you are shopping in stores, you will see labels with “certified organic” and you think you are doing something good for you and the environment, but it can be misleading.

            Currently, the laws for “certified organic clothing” only pertain to how the fibers are grown and cultivated.
      For cotton to be considered organic it must be grown meeting the strict standards established by the Organic Food Production Act of 1990, enforced by The State Organic Program (SOP). This act specifies the procedures and regulations for production and handling of organic crops. In the United States cotton plantations must also meet the requirements enforced by the National Organic Program (NOP), from the USDA, in order to be considered organic. This institution determines the allowed practices for pest control, growing, fertilizing, and handling of organic crops

            Now all of this is important to growing the cotton or any other natural fibers because it is better for the environment.

      In order for a field to be considered organic, it must go through a 3 year cleansing process. Special barriers must be put up to prevent run-off from non-organic areas and strict regulations on how they enforce pest control and adding of nutrients to the soil are enforced by the SOP. You should also know that the SOP allows the use of mechanical/biological methods for the purpose of retarding spoilage of organic product but prohibits volatile solvents in process of products or any ingredients labeled organic.

Organic products must be grown without the use of certain synthetic pesticides but the uses of some pesticides are still allowed. Some organic cotton will contain fewer pesticides than regular cotton. And because some pesticides have a longer breakdown period than others, the “organic fields” that went through a 3 year cleansing process, may still contain those pesticides, depending how long ago they used pesticides on those fields.

      Now this is really all it takes for a fiber to be considered “organic” and often times when you buy clothing, “certified organic” just means that the fibers were grown organically. So what happens to the natural fiber when it is made into clothing? What regulations do we have for dyes and printing?

Surprisingly, not many restrictions are enforced that apply to the dying and printing of materials. You will sometimes see on labels say “low impact dyes”. These are dyes that don’t contain heavy metals like zinc and copper that can be caustic for the environment and the factory workers. Please don’t be fooled to think that they are entirely safe. Yes, they are less harmful than other synthetic dyes, but it is still a synthetic dye that is petroleum based with a higher than average absorption rate. In fact, many companies already use these dyes on their non-organic clothing.

    Natural dyes are dyes comprised of natural substances in the earth. The reason we don’t use natural dyes is because the absorption rate is lower, in order to sustain color, you must use chemical to preserve the color, and it requires much larger amounts of water for the dying process.

Cotton does grow naturally in array of colors like: browns, dark reds, off whites, and greens. However, the fibers on naturally colored cotton are much shorter than naturally white cotton and are not suitable for heavy machinery for spinning. Also, even with natural colored fibers the color often will either fade or become richer after exposure to sun or washing. So the color is not as stable as commercial dyes. In some cases it is better for sun protection. For instance “naturally green cotton” has sun protective properties that are not present in natural white cotton. White cotton will need to be treated chemically in order to achieve the same effect. Naturally colored cottons yield less per acre and growers have to pay higher prices to harvest it. So from a company’s point of view, the profit margin on naturally colored cottons is not always the best way to do business.

         But after all this, I can say there is some good news in the research that I have done. I did find that there is a company that promises to not only grow and harvest natural fibers according to regulations but producing garments that also comply with their own strict guidelines to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the worldwide textile process for organic fibers, including ecological and social criteria of the entire textile supply chain.

The aim of the GOTS is to define world-wide recognized requirements that ensure organic status of textiles from harvesting raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling in order to provide credible assurance to the end consumer. The criteria are that a clean and unambiguous understanding of the content required that the Global Standard itself focuses on compulsory criteria only. This process covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading, and distribution of all the textiles made from at least 70% certified organic fibers.  

        Basically, by their own rules, the regulations don’t just end at the cultivation and harvesting of the fibers, but extend to the processing, manufacturing, and dying of the fabric that is not only environmentally safe, but safe for the workers in those factories. They also regulate the quality of life of the workers of those factories under their strict guidelines.

You can get their full description of all the rules and regulations they must follow on their site http://www.global-standard.org

        So if a garment you buy says “Certified Organic” it still may have been dyed and preserved with harsh chemicals. You should also look for the GOTS’s label on the organic manufacturer. Obviously, not all chemicals are entirely eliminated, but the GOTS does have stricter guidelines than a factory that just complies with the regulations of the NOP and SOP.
  
      Knowing this information, should give you a better understanding what it means to be organic in fashion. It was a big wake-up call for me. I have learned a lot about growing organic fibers and how the word “organic” can be misleading. Not all companies are at fault. The regulations made by our government have not addressed what we deem as “organic” and what that means for the average consumer. Often times, companies use the word “organic” to appeal to the consumers new desire for “environmentally friendly” products and “hypo-allergenic” needs.

So as I always say “Happy Shopping!” And be informed!