The Observer, November 2, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 9
Global Scorning: Clothing joins food on organic shelf
Last week, while shopping for my winter warms, I came across a thermal long-sleeve shirt that looked comfortable and cozy, so I bought it. When I arrived back in my dorm, I glanced over the tag and noticed that it was made of 100 percent organic cotton.
Organic products have become a popular trend in today's society, and as it turns out, it's not just the food and car industry that are trying to go green. Organic makeup is now available in department stores, as is a variety of clothing made from organic cotton.
Organic cotton is cotton that is grown without pesticides from plants that are not genetically modified. Typical cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area that any other crop and accounts for 25 percent of the world's pesticides. The chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters. Residual chemicals on cotton clothing may also irritate consumers' skin. Organic cotton utilizes crop rotation as opposed to agrochemicals and uses artificial fertilizers and biological pest control instead of pesticides.
Though organic cotton has less of an environmental impact, it costs more to produce. Additionally, critics believe that the chemical-filled dyes used on the organic cotton defeat the purpose and cause behind organic cotton. Entering the fashion industry with this design line proves to be problematic.
One organic cotton clothing line, Edun, suffered to launch successfully in the fashion industry. Edun ventured to use mostly organic fabrics and to manufacture its clothing in developing nations in an attempt to help fight poverty. However, this kind of endeavor produces problems such as an insufficient amount of organic cotton and properly trained workers in the impoverished nation. The national infrastructure of these developing nations also causes problems with transport and timely deliveries. Most of the designers who have attempted to create "green garments" have not been very successful and there is no strict definition or policy for the green designers to follow. However, clothing company American Apparel and denim company Nudie Jeans have mastered the organic cotton movement.
Nudie Jeans Co. only uses 100 percent organic materials including cotton, dyes, and finishing yarns. The company claims to follow detailed and accurate rules to make organic denim. The code of conduct page on their website claims that their cotton comes from organic production and that their spinning, dyeing, and finishing of the yarn is also done according to an ecological procedure. This procedure includes the use of potato starch and pre-reduced indigo – no chemicals at all. Additionally, Nudies believes that "air, water, and other natural resources are critical to any kind of future, and therefore essential to the future of the business."
American Apparel's recently introduced line of clothing called "Sustainable Edition" includes a selection of their most popular clothes in 100 percent USDA- certified organic cotton. Currently, only some of their clothing is produced with organic cotton, but according to their website, they aim to integrate it into their main production line so all of their clothing will have a certain percentage of organic cotton. Like Nudies Jeans Co., American Apparel's goal is to reduce the negative impacts of cotton cultivation.
Organic products have been polluting the shelves in our local grocery stores and the racks in our favorite clothing stores. But if we can develop a smart eye for shopping and recognize the gimmicks from the genuinely ecological clothing, then this trend may end up being worthy of our money and may even stick around.
Michelle Udem is a second-year economics and environmental studies major and is an avid supporter of alternative energy.
