Thursday, January 22, 2009

Organic clothing: what are the advantages

By An Marquez

As the call for the awareness of global warming spreads, many people today try to live a 'greener' lifestyle. People are choosing to eat more natural foods and try to make use of renewable energy sources. But these are not the only things we can do in order to save the environment. What most people don't know, even the way we dress can leave a huge impact on the environment.

Organic clothing is described as clothing made from materials that are raised or grown naturally, without the use of chemicals in the form of pesticides - herbicides or other chemicals. Its key material, cotton, is grown wholly in natural way in farms, the same way cotton has been grown long before the development of chemicals like pesticides appeared.

Though organic cotton has less environmental impact than growing conventional cotton, it costs more to produce. Side-effects of conventional production that are avoided in organic growing methods include:

High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton. Conventional cotton accounts for nearly 25% of the insecticides and 10% of the pesticides used in the world, though is it grown on only 3% of the total cultivated area. The excessive usage of chemicals in conventional cotton made it rank fourth as the most heavily-fertilized crop.

The chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters. Eco-friendly farmers try to find different ways to lessen the amount of harmful chemicals they put into the ground, as these chemicals mix into the soil. This will eventually affect vegetation and animal life through many years to come. These chemicals may also seep into natural fresh water deep underground and contaminate it. As many other farmers realize this, instead of using synthetic fertilizers which messes up the soil's PH balance, many are now using natural composting. Pesticides can throw off the food chain and affect larger animals, so organic farmers introduce useful insects and predators, as well as setting up insect traps to have a specific area for insect control.

Left over chemicals may irritate the skin. Since the fabrication of organic clothing involves no chemicals, it has fewer irritants, making it the perfect textile for infants' delicate skin and people who have allergies. It can also give off a pleasing smell and is supposed to minimize respiratory problems.

Organic cotton clothing is a lot pricier than non-organic cotton clothing but the price is definitely worth it. These type of clothing wear better and are much durable than conventional cotton and is often more breathable than synthetic materials.

Organic cotton has distinctive properties that set it apart from synthetic cottons found on most major retailers. The colour brown, for example, darkens faintly during the first three washings. Since organic cotton is not removed of its natural wax by harsh chemicals, most weaves have special smoothness and weight which makes the fabric particularly flattering. Organic cotton can be tinted using natural dyes as well. Aside from being eco-friendly and beneficial to health, organic clothing can also be a beautiful and stylish material. - 15343

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