Natural Clothing Blog

Longing for clothing reflecting the concerns about sustainability, Natural Clothing Company introduced their own basic clothing line. The fabric used is organic cotton, sustainably grown in Texas. Th line is inspired by people comments of what they  need and like. Simplicity.

“I like the message ‘Live Green’ and the symbols of simple life. These garments are stating a wish, not a demand and are usually met with a smile,” the owner says — at least in places like her local Farmers Market in Snohomish, Washington.

Natural Clothing Company commitment to sustainability shows in its vegan, natural and organic clothing store where you may search clothing choices by fiber – hemp, organic cotton, bamboo and even soy fiber reclaimed from making tofu.

“Live Green” selection consists of natural, mostly unbleached certified organic cotton. Nothing is printed with PVC containing plastisol – so garments are a great choice for people with sensitive skin. While every manufacturing step involves some compromise, “I try to navigate the best possible choices, there is always more room to keep raising the standards higher” owner explains.

“There are so many people with skin problems, having hard time with chemically laden clothing. Also, since I am a gardener, the bottom line for me is: after the years of use, if I can throw the clothes into my compost, because they don’t have toxins, metals , PVCs and so on,  they will decompose and improve the soil, help grow vegetables. You can feel really good about it.”

You can find out more about Live Green clothing at NnaturalClothingCompany.com/live-green-cotton-organic-clothing

I delivered yesterday some Tee shirts to a group of kids at the foothills of Cascade Mountains.  Children were completing a survival week run by Wolf Camp from Snohomish,  Washington. Sitting in a comfortable shade of a  large tree, the small group of youngsters demonstrated the actual skills they learned that week and shared their stories.  Presentation  was very impressive: how to make a wood bowl using the fire coals, which native plants are safe to eat, a tea out of pine needles was shared, we saw how to build a warm shelter using forest  debris. But the most exciting part came when the boys showed us how to start the fire. No matches, of course… It took less than 10 minutes using their handmade tool of tied sticks (even though  the original attempts took couple of hours, we hear…).  They shared then how their appreciation changed for fire and water, their meaning to life, driven by their first hand experience. It was very touching.

Adults gathered in circle looked with pride at the camp participants, grateful for sharing this experience and applauding, just like their kids when the fire was born.  At the same time it was hard not to reflect on  how far we are now from appreciating the most fundamental basis of survival. Majority of us have shelter in warm houses full of asbestos insulation, we have stores full of neat cardboard boxes full of well preserved particles called food and fire flowing at will by flipping a switch. Don’t misunderstand me – I would never express any interest in living in a cave again. Proponents of sustainability by giving up any and all progress are unrealistic and ineffective. It would not resolve much for our civilization as it is.

But to disconnect completely, as we do now,  from understanding, caring and valuing the actual sources of shelter, fire, water and food – is counter-survival. It leads to abuse of Nature close to the point of no return  - putting toxic debris, sprays, sludge in waters, air, soil and consequently in our foods – escapes rationalization. We create modified plants, our food sources, so they would withstand these toxins and then feed it to our children and our animals. We put enough preservatives in “food” so it can stand on a shelf for weeks, how are they suppose to magically decompose in our stomachs?  We spray cotton crops with toxins so insects can’t touch it and then we sleep on it.  Any logic here?

Let’s start by waking  up every day and as we look up to the sky for the sun, let’s give our thanks to the trees for still being there for us, despite everything; to soil still willing to bear us plants, despite everything; to the life around us still willing to persist and forgive us and share with us. Let’s don’t forget to thank the fire for still willing to be born.

A young girl at the fair asked: “So what is your clothing? Can you eat it? I thought organic means that you can eat it safely?”

Well yes, maybe not it it but wear it safely since it has no toxins for your skin or the planet! To us simply means it is not poisoned: by pesticides, insecticides, dyes with metals or PVC in it.

What does it mean to you?

Life without poisons.  That’s what the “Green Lifestyle” means to me.

I  actually came across that wording  on some Italian site and it seemed like an obviously awkward translation of their expression. “We don’t use poisons on our food”, they said. It stuck to me and I cannot get it unstuck. Every time I eat beautiful “conventional” (not organic) food, wear the conventional “normal” clothing, their beauty might as well come from toxic veneer, their great texture from gene engineering. The more you learn the more you see the percentages, like GMO corn at 70%, toxic cotton at similar range. A bio-scientist /artist (?) in Chicago crossed Petunia with his blood DNA. Called it Edunia. Cute, hmm…

Even though I am quite fanatical about life without poisons, I can see that one could go nuts looking for the potential hazards everywhere. Where do you draw the line? Does your line fluctuate like cosine function or is it straight and bold ? Do you think we are doing better because of the awareness growing with the green movement or are we getting behind because of damage already existing?

Organic and natural fiber clothing is growing as fast as organic food. Is it just “green washing,” an attempt to sell an “organic” or “natural” label? Organic veggies, organic cookies, why do you really need organic tee shirts, jeans or bed sheets?

In short – it is because you can spare our planet pounds of chemicals, avoid toxins for yourself and push the karma of this unbalanced world an inch in better direction. An inch is an inch.

Cotton is one of the most polluted crops on earth, perhaps due to a wrong perception as a non-food crop, causing a significant risk to our freshwater. Picture this: cotton uses 24% of global insecticides market but… at the same time, its acreage amounts to only 2.4% of the world’s cultivated land. Well…  All nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. are classified by the U.S. EPA as Category I and II- the most dangerous chemicals.

What doe is mean to You? If you love wearing your favorite T-shirt and pair of jeans, as we do, you have to live with the fact that it took a lot of chemicals, many of them carcinogenic (cancer creating) to create it. To “solve” the problem, a recent wave of Genetically Modified cotton has became widespread, covering 43 percent of the world’s cotton.   An additional concern related to using glyphosate on cotton is that the herbicide has been shown to move from cotton fabric into and through human skin.

I think that you do know the answer. The solution is NOT a better pesticide, but crops without poisons and chemicals. Goodbye, wrinkle free shirts! Hello hemp and linen, which look great either way or bamboo and soy! They are sustainable, effective and resulting in fibers with great qualities: breathable, some, like hemp naturally deter bacteria (and so body odor – hello socks and T-shirts!), very strong. Bamboo and soy blends are incredibly soft and pleasant to the skin.

Most importantly, they are safe for the skin, your body largest organ. Personally, we investigated for years possible causes of skin and health problems for our children and ourselves. We don’t make any health claims, but for our family – moving to rural area, growing organics and wearing organic clothing, definitely works. For more information go to http://www.NaturalClothingCompany.com/frequent_questions