Green Cotton

Theme of the Week: BAMBOO

Three Questions:

1) What fiber is the closest to bamboo in terms of processing?

2) Name one reason why bamboo may not always be environmentally friendly to process?

3) Name one company that sells 100% bamboo clothing?

Be the first to answer all three correctly and you win!

If you answer any one question correctly you will also be featured in the ‘winners circle’.

Email your answers to ecotique@gmail.com or simply post a comment.

PATAGONIA!

Patagonia is the first major US company to initiate sourcing organic cotton for their shirts, and they did so in 1996. In the early 1990’s, Patagonia issued am R&D study to look at the environmental impacts of all their fabrics and processing. Much to their surprise, cotton came out the worst. As a result, Patagonia took significant steps toward making the same products (at almost the same price) with organic fibers, and eliminating damaging pesticide and excessive water use in the process.

Interestingly, this was not a demand by Patagonia’s customers, it came from within management. In fact, Patagonia did not aggressively market the organic fibers much at that time, since their customers were not much concerned with the fabrics’ source at the time. However, since then, more than a handful of consumers and companies are now cognizant of and interested in where and how fabrics are sourced. Patagonia has been and continues to be a true pioneer in the green apparel space. To learn more about their steps toward sourcing organic cotton, check out the Footprint Chronicles at Patagonia.

This week’s Quiz Winner is ricepaperslidingdoor. Congratulations ricepapersldingdoor!

Honorable mention goes to Kelven Goodridge who guessed American Apparel in 2003.

Stay tuned for the next quiz question!

This brand new multi-purpose shop, Greenward, opened in Porter Square recently, with an all around green mission: to offer a wide range of eco-friendly products for the one-stop green minded shopper. From recycled materials to ‘recyclable’ products, organic products, handmade items, energy efficient items, biodegradable, AND educational products, the store covers the green gamut.All products are screened to meet at least one but ideally several of the above criteria, and fall into the following categories:

• Gifts
• Housewares
• Jewelry
• Cards and stationary
• Handbags and other bags
• Cosmetics
• Books and magazines
• Urban cycling accessories
• Toys and games
• Things for baby
• Energy efficiency improvement items
• Natural cleaning products

The store sounds like the ‘Target’ of green products (though not as big, which is kind of nice). Greenward appears to be an all around environmentally and socially conscious store that aims to do well for consumers, the environment and the community. I will be checking out the store in November– so stay tuned for a real-time review after Thanksgiving, but in the meantime, if you are in the area and are also looking for eco-apparel store, you might also want to check out Envi located on Newbury Street in Boston.

clipped from www.greenwardshop.com Welcome! Located in Porter Square, Cambridge, Greenward is an independent boutique specializing in eco-modern goods.Our hours: Monday-Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 11am-6pm Thursday: 11am-8pm Sunday: 12pm-5pm For directions, click here. To read our latest newsletter, click here.