We’re often asked if ALL the chemicals used in textile processing are harmful. And the answer is (surprisingly maybe) no! Many chemicals are used, many benign, but as with everything these days there are caveats. Let’s look at the chemical that is used most often in the textile industry: salt. That’s right. Common table …
For hundreds of years, a “luxury” item was something that was so well produced, so exclusive, and thus so expensive, that only the few – the elite – had access and the financial means to buy it. Luxury was marketed to the rich as being a part of their social fabric, and to everyone else …
I know it’s hard to imagine that the lovely fabric you’re eyeing for that chair – so soft and supple and luxurious – is just another plastic. But because 60% of all polyethylene terephalate (PET – commonly called polyester) manufactured globally is destined to be made into fibers to be woven into cloth, and because …
We’ll be taking a few days off over the holidays (no blog next week) and we’d like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. A few weeks ago we wrote about the holiday rush, and all the gift giving that happens this time of year. Here are some gift suggestions: …
Copper is an essential trace element that is vital to life. The human body normally contains copper at a level of about 1.4 to 2.1 mg for each kg of body weight; and since the body can’t synthesize copper, the human diet must supply regular amounts for absorption. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that 10-12 …
Can you wash or otherwise clean conventional fabrics to remove all the toxic residues so that you’d end up with a fabric that’s as safe as an organic fabric? It seems a reasonable question, and sure would be an easy fix if the answer was yes, wouldn’t it? But let’s explore this question, because it’s …
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 …
John Wargo wears at least three hats: he is a professor of environmental policy, risk analysis, and political science at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, he chairs the Environmental Studies Major at Yale College, and is an advisor to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He published this opinion on …
Whoa, caught your attention, didn’t I? I’m actually not talking about the company that contacted us to provide organic fabrics for their sexy lingerie, but rather the ways our fabric choices (or rather the chemicals in them) can effect our reproductive systems. Because many of the chemicals (i.e. chlorine, phthalates, PBDE’s) used in textile processing …
The natural fibers used in O Ecotextiles fabrics are the best in their class: the linen, hemp, wool and cotton are the finest fiber materials available, and they are processed in labor intensive, time consuming ways (for instance, the hemp is field retted rather than chemically retted. Chemical retting weakens the fibers as well as …
OEcotextiles 