From Alaska to Southern California, sea stars (or as I call them, starfish. But scientists like to point out they’re not fish, ergo: “sea stars”) are dying by the millions. Drew Harvell, a marine epidemiologist at Cornell University, calls it the largest documented marine epidemic in human history. The disease deflates …
In 2011 Greenpeace published two reports: one investigating the discharge of hazardous substances from textiles manufacturing in China linked to major clothing and sportswear companies (Dirty Laundry), and another detailing the presence of NPEs in clothing and footwear of 15 leading brands (Dirty Laundry 2: Hung Out to Dry). With the publication of these reports Greenpeace …
I love lists – you know, all those “best of” lists – movies, books, toxic chemicals. Having a list makes it easy for us to tick off those bad chemicals that nobody wants to live with. And in the building industry there have been a proliferation of lists which identify chemicals of concern: the Perkins & …
First we heard about the world’s biggest garbage dump – made up of the detritus of our time: plastic bottles, plastic bags, DVD cases – floating in our ocean. About 44 percent of all seabirds eat plastic, apparently by mistake, sometimes with fatal effects. And many marine species are affected by plastic garbage—animals are known to …
At the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM ) Congress in February, 2011, Ann Shankar from Biodye India, a company that produces natural dyes based on wild plants, made a provocative suggestion – that the term “organic textile” is not an accurate description of any textile where synthetic dyes and auxiliaries are used. The …
I just don’t know what it takes to change people’s habits. We need a huge wake up call about the disastrous state of our oceans! Our oceans are our life support system. And they’re in trouble. Because this is a blog about textile issues, I wanted to remind you that the textile industry is the …
Last week we talked about the use of salt in textile dyeing. We always say the textile industry uses a LOT of three resources: water, chemicals and energy. The use of salt (a chemical – benign, essential for life, but a chemical nevertheless) bumps up the other two considerably. And though the salt itself is …
I just came from showing our fabrics to a well-known interior design firm here in Seattle. We were told that the only criteria they use to pick fabrics is that it must be beautiful – and of the right color. Environmental and safety issues are just NOT part of the equation. The visit was not …
Water. Our lives depend on it. It’s so plentiful that the Earth is sometimes called the blue planet – but freshwater is a remarkably finite resource that is not evenly distributed everywhere or to everyone. The number of people on our planet is growing fast, and our water use is growing even faster. About 1 …
A new study focused on global water issues, commissioned by an international network of scientists, found that people around the world view water issues as the planet’s top environmental problem – greater than air pollution, depletion of natural resources, loss of habitat or climate change. (click here to read more on this study). That shouldn’t …
OEcotextiles 