Green Cotton

Zooey Deschanel, star of the just-released film 500 Days of Summer, is the latest in a slew of celebrities to lend her voice to ad campaigns for Cotton Inc. The actress and chanteuse brings her trademark quirkiness to a commercial that showcases her own take on “The Fabric of Our Lives” jingle.

Deschanel is known for her eclectic, vintage-inspired fashion sense, which the Cotton ad cheerfully harnesses, seemingly to lend this cooperate conglomerate a little indie-cred. What’s troubling here is that cotton, often touted as “natural,” is produced with more harmful chemical pesticides than any other crop (see our recent post on organic cotton certification, and learn more at Organature.com). Having a lovely songstress chirp an upbeat jingle about it detracts from a major environmental issue. When Deschanel warbles “The fabric of our lives,” the appropriate enjoinder would be, “it’s full of pesticides.”

But Cotton Inc. is no stranger to green-washing: see their “Give Us Green…But Make it Fashionable” summer 2008 ad campaign. These ads featured phrases like, “When it’s cotton, you’ll know it’s green (even if it’s pink)” and “Cotton. Style that comes naturally.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

From CottonInc.com: “Through our research, we’ve discovered that the same consumer who’s concerned with the state of the environment also places an even higher priority on fashion when purchasing,” states Ric Hendee, vice president, marketing services, at Cotton Incorporated. “We’ve developed these three new ads to convey that cotton has always been and continues to be the natural choice for fashionable, eco-friendly clothing.”

Now, Deschanel is not the only celebrity currently shilling for Cotton—country singer Miranda Lambert and R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan are also featured on TheFabricofOurLives.com. But Deschanel stands out from the pack due to her unique style and lifestyle choices. The actress dabbles in veganism (she recently issued an all vegan, gluten- and soy-free challenge to the cooks on Top Chef!), and animal-loving vegans tend to be environmentalists by default. Eating vegetarian is one of the easiest ways to go green, as it helps cut down on resources used to feed the rest of the world. It makes sense, then, that vegans also tend to care about issues like global warming and using eco-friendly textiles.

When it comes to clothing choices, however, veganism and environmentalism aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Vegans reject animal products in general, so that includes wool, silk and leather; fans of eco-fashion might tout some of these fabrics as earthy and natural, while a vegan is more likely to purchase a handbag or shoe made out of harmful PVC (polyvinyl chloride). We’ve discussed the growing vegan fashion trend here at Green Cotton before, and it’s a debate that needs more information exchanged on both sides of the issue. So just because Ms. Deschanel chooses to eat vegan does not mean she will always choose organic fabrics (even if the Cotton campaign leads us to believe that cotton was “green before it was even in style.”).

I’m not intentionally picking on Zooey Deschanel, because that would be hypocritical. Not everyone can afford to buy organic fashions, since natural fibers cost far more than conventional ones. As someone with many allergies and chemical sensitivities, I admit that 90% of my wardrobe is cotton; it has to be. But the conventional kind isn’t necessarily doing me and my sensitive skin any favors. I own a few organic garments and hope to collect more; I do try to offset my carbon footprint by shopping in vintage and thrift stores when I can. And someone like Zooey Deschanel is a major fashion inspiration who can afford to shop where and how she wants, and makes the perfect spokeswoman for vintage fashion. Imagine if she lent her voice to a campaign for authentically organic cotton? I look forward to seeing how Deschanel’s career unfolds, and hope that her future choices only positively impact the growing eco-fashion world.

Photosource: thefabricofourlives.com

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Understanding GOTS organic cotton certification

Ecorazzi

Post By Erin Dale

Photosource: Swicofil.com

Eco-friendly clothing and organic cotton are all “the buzz” these days, but what is it exactly that can we can expect from a product labeled with “organic cotton” and how do we know we are not being green-washed?

With more and more companies jumping on the organic bandwagon such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Nike, Bed Bath and Beyond and many others, it seems increasingly important for all of us to get on the same page about what we mean by “organic” and enlighten ourselves as consumers as well as producers.

Despite this obvious need for clear requirements and labeling, there is a surprising amount of confusion within industry producers about organic textile labeling and certification. The answer to this confusion that I hear over and over again is: certification. And yet, organic textile certification has been around in various forms for decades across the globe. The problem however has been lack of consistency and collective agreement on standards. Germany had one set, Japan another, USA yet another and so on. However with the textile industry being extremely global in nature, it quickly became apparent that separate standards was a problem.

We here at Green Cotton agree that globally accepted certification is very important in terms of differentiating products from one another, but also because it can be used as vehicle for increasing producer accountability and consumer awareness. After doing some research, we happily discovered that a global standard does exist:  the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and so would like to share the good news and spread the word.

First launched in late 2006, GOTS certification standards are the product of an International Working Group on Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) http://www.global-standard.org/ This group began in 2002 with the common purpose of establishing global standards for textile certification that could then be implemented (and enforced) internationally.

The main bodies represented in the working group include:

• Organic Trade Association (OTA) from the USA
• Japan Organic Cotton Association
• Soil Association (SA) of England from England
  International Association of Natural Textile Industry (IVN), Germany

In 2006, the 4 organizations came to agreement on the global standards and released version one of the GOTS. In 2008, an international working group meeting then agreed upon a licensing system and logo (although as far as I know this logo has not yet been officially released). In May 2008, Version 2 of the GOTS was released. The GOTS is now accepted the leading set of criteria in the field of organic textile processing. With their licensing requirements and logo now complete, I would expect to see this new label on apparel in the next year or so. The logo I believe will help consumers readily identify genuinely certified garments/apparel/textiles much more easily and efficiently (hooray GOTS!).

Certification Process

Important to understand is that the GOTS International Working Group (IWG) is NOT a certifying body. They set the standards, then certification is left to approved certifying bodies. Currently there are a handful of accredited organizations/companies that are approved by IWG. Names and contact details off all approved certifiers are listed on the GOTS website . Besides the technical requirements, a certifier must be approved by the IWG for GOTS certification, must agree to cease using their own standards and must fully adopt the GOTS. As a result, the certifiers Control Union Certifications (formerly Skal International), EcoCert, ETKO and ICEA have dropped their own established standards and introduced to their clients the GOTS certification scheme.

CERTIFICATION STANDARDS

Aim

According to GOTS IWG, the aim of the standards in broad terms is to: Define requirements to ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.

Scope and Structure

GOTS covers the production, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, exportation, importation and distribution of all natural fibers. The final products may include, but are not limited to fiber products, yarns, fabrics and clothes. The standards focus on compulsory criteria only.

LABELING

Labeling is important because there are many different stages in textile production (from crop growing to spinning, dying, washing, finishing) and there are many products on the market that only contain a certain percentage of organic cotton. So how are all these different cases handled? Well, here is a quick overview of the GOTS labeling criteria:

Final products that are produced and manufactured in compliance with all compulsory criteria of GOTS are to be labeled “Global Organic Textile Standard”. Further the standards provide for a subdivision into two label-grades.

I. “Organic” or  “Organic ‑ In Conversion”

95% or more of the fibers must be of certified organic (or in conversion) origin. The remaining balance up to 5% may be made of non-organic fibers including defined regenerated and synthetic fibers. Blending (= mixing the same fiber in organic and conventional quality in one product) is not permitted.

II. “Made with X % Organic Materials ” OR “Made with X % Organic ‑ In Conversion Materials”

70% – 95% or more of the fibers must be of certified organic (or in conversion) origin. The remaining balance up to 30% may be made of non-organic fibers. Regenerated and synthetic fibers are limited to 10% (resp. 25% for socks, leggings and sportswear). Again blending is not permitted.

Stay tuned for our next post in this series for a closer look at the actual standards and how they include fair labor components as well. Let us know what you think about this and your questions regarding organic certification.

Photosource: http://pipeline.refinery29.com

Beth Ditto, favored mascot of the fashion world, has recently developed a clothing line for Arcadia Group devoted to plus size women such as herself. She is featured in the front page story of the “Style” section in the New York Times. The article focuses on how for the most part high fashion has left out larger women from their collections, but as the number of women in this group grow, this group of women cannot be avoided. About 17 percent of teenagers are overweight now, three times what it was only a generation ago according to the surgeon general’s office. So of course, smart designers are figuring out the best ways to tap into this market. But it seems that for the most part these women want the same styles that their thinner women friends wear, but just in sizes they will fit.

A few prominent women (such as Beth Ditto) want their voice to be heard and make great designs available in plus sizes. She was finally offered the opportunity to test out her own creativity with her latest collection for Evans, the plus size division of Arcadia Group.

Girls have learned to become comfortable in their own skin and want to accentuate those areas they are most proud of. More chic designers such as Karen Kane and Kiyonna have started a plus size line for sale at boutiques, as well as larger chains such as Forever 21, Target, and H & M. So our question of course remains, has this general trend in growing plus size clothing and styles transcended general fashion and reached the eco-fashion world?

We are glad to report the answer is yes, eco-fashion is increasingly inclusive of the plus size market as well! There are a number of companies who now supply plus size eco-friendly clothing. While some may not be as close to young high fashion as Karen Kane and Kiyonna, they are still styles I could love! BellaOnline’s Large & Lovely’s editor, M. E. Wood, has complied a list of plus size eco-designers that we can’t begin to cover.

One of our favorites was Diane Kennedy, who offers clothing up to 3X made from not only organic cotton, but also Soy, Bamboo, Tencel and natural Silk. As a bigger girl herself, Ms. Kennedy worked backwards starting as a plus size designer and just expanded to making normal small, medium and large sizes last year. Her designs are classy, beautiful and soft, and can make any woman feel comfortable in her own skin.

Photosource: www.splendicity.com

Another amazing eco-chic plus size designer is Blue Fish Barclay Studios. Blue Fish is based in Taos, New Mexico but is available for sale online. Blue Fish specializes in offering organic cotton and hemp clothing in free flowing design and earth loving colors to bring out everyone’s inner beauty. They offer regular and plus sizes up to 22.

Photosource: http://www.barclaystudio.com/

Last but definitely not least, Lundstrom offers eco-chic clothing up to sizes 18-24 that do have a younger high fashion feel. While all Lundstrom clothing is not eco, their bamboo line is a favorite for eco-fashionistas. This jacket, for example, is crafted from a recycled corn polyster blend, and is available in sizes up to 24.

Photosource: www.lundstrom.ca

So the first steps toward plus size eco-fashion have certainly been taken, but we can always do more!

For complete larger ist of eco-chic boutiques offering plus sizes, see M.E. Wood’s article on BellaOnline.

By: Julia Rea