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 …
Trade issues raise a lot of hackles – and they’re complex, global in scope, subject to capricious trade agreements and governmental intervention. According to Oxfam, trade is robbing poor people of a proper living, and keeps them trapped in poverty because the rules controlling trade heavily favor the rich nations that set the rules. Rich …
King Cotton. The cotton textile industry has perhaps been studied as much as any industry in history, and the fiber itself is so important that it’s traded as a commodity. “In high cotton” means to be wealthy, somebody can be out of his “cotton picking mind”, and “to cotton” has even become a verb! Today …
Since the 1960s, the use of synthetic fibers has increased dramatically, causing the natural fiber industry to lose much of its market share. In December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 the International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF); a year-long initiative focused on raising global awareness about natural fibers with specific focus on …
A recent report in The Financial Times of Germany alleged that a ‘gigantic fraud’ was taking place in the sale of cotton garments marked as organic by leading European retailers like H&M, C&A and Tchibo, because they actually contained genetically modified (GM) cotton. GM cotton (often called Bt cotton in India) is prohibited in …
Chris Wood – an independent journalist living on Vancouver Island, Canada, wrote an article in Miller-McCune about China’s cotton problem. Most of the information here is taken from his article. You can read the complete article here. Clients often ask us where our fabrics and/or fibers come from because, they tell us, they don’t want …
I have been saying for years that fabric is the forgotten product. People just don’t seem to care about what their fabric choices do to them or to the environment. (Quick, what fiber is your shirt/blouse made of? What kinds of fibers do you sleep on?) They are too busy to do research, or they’re …
From last week’s post, you’ll remember we explained that GMO crops (to date) do not fulfill their promise: They do not decrease hunger and poverty; Data shows that GMO crops actually increase pesticide and herbicide use; They do not yield more; in a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Failure to Yield, data …
The Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS) prohibits all “genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) and their derivatives”. According to the Organic Exchange, none of the organic growing standards established by any government allows for GMO crops. In April, 2009, Germany announced a plan to ban all GMO crops in the country, citing concerns of the environmental impact, …
Provocative title, isn’t it? But I didn’t say it, the statement comes from Jim Rogers, one of the world’s most successful investors and co-founder of the Quantum Fund (with George Soros) from which he retired in 1980. Since then he has been a college professor, world traveler, author, economic commentator and creator of the Rogers …
OEcotextiles 