Organic Fabrics
Making the Progression From Organic Food to Fiber
by Ed Mass
 Have you been eating organic fruits and
vegetables? Or even “natural” food, without being certified organic, that is
grown without the use of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and synthetic
fertilizer?
Maybe you’ve been selecting fish that has lower
mercury content. And you might be selecting free range poultry that’s fed a
healthy diet and beef that is grass-fed and not shot up with hormones and
antibiotics.
If you’re eating organic and natural food,
you’re probably doing so for two reasons. The first is probably to eat healthier
food. You don’t want to be exposing yourself and your family to harmful toxins
in your food through farming and processing practices. You may also know that
many studies have shown that organic food contains more nutrients than
non-organic food.
The second reason is that you are aware of the
environmental damage to our air, water and land done by conventional farming
methods and manufacturing processes.
Those reasons can also be applied to your
clothing, bedding and towels. Just like food, if your clothing, bedding and
towels are made from non-organic cotton and wool, or synthetics, they may
contain a whole range of harmful chemicals. These are retained in the fibers
from both the farming and manufacturing processes.
Non-organic cotton uses more
insecticides than any other single crop. The typical spraying application
results in volatile organic compounds being released into the air, contributing
to our overload of greenhouse gases. Additionally, such spraying harms the
health of the soil and pollutes groundwater, lakes and streams.
Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol,
naled, propargite, and trifluralin) are known cancer-causing chemicals. All nine
are classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as Category I
and II – the most dangerous chemicals of all. Depending on the practices
involved, it can take up to a pound of such chemicals to grow the cotton for one pair of pants and a
shirt. Not only do these chemicals pollute the air, water and soil, they’re also
retained in the crops as they’re grown. In addition, other chemicals are added
to the mix during the manufacturing processes. Non-organic wool also uses substantial chemicals, which may be unhealthy.
Organic sheep production, on the other hand, includes the following practices:
Sheep must be fed 100 percent organically grown feed (grains) and forage
(pastures); use of synthetic hormones, vaccinations and genetic engineering is
prohibited; use of synthetic pesticides (internal, external and on pastures) is
prohibited.
There are two key distinctions in organic livestock management. First is the
elimination of “dipping,” a method of controlling external parasites in which
sheep are submerged in pools containing organophosphate-based parasiticides.
Studies have indicated that prolonged exposure to sheep dip pesticides causes
changes in the nervous system of humans. Moreover, disposal and runoff of dips
can contaminate ground water supplies.
Secondly, in order to maintain their certification, organic livestock
producers cannot exceed the natural carrying capacity of the land, thus
preventing the effects of overgrazing.
Beyond Organic Cotton & Wool
Aside from organic cotton and wool, two particular eco-friendly textiles that
are gaining in popularity are hemp and bamboo. These are called eco-friendly
because they grow quickly, are naturally pest resistant so they don’t require
pesticides and other harmful chemicals and can therefore easily be grown
organically.
Hemp and bamboo each have various advantages over cotton. They both require
much less water to grow. They are both claimed to be antibacterial and, unlike
cotton, can both be grown on the same land for decades without depleting the
soil if properly managed.
Bamboo also has the advantage that it doesn’t need to be replanted. When it
is harvested, it is cut near the ground but the stalks remain and grow new
plants. Therefore, it has a lower carbon footprint by not requiring engine
exhaust for replanting.
At the processing stage, hemp and bamboo can be environmentally problematic,
with harmful chemicals used. Alternatively, they can be processed in an
eco-friendly manner, although hemp and bamboo are often not certified organic
because of the costs involved in doing so. However, this will change as more
people demand organic certification.
Not Just the Growing
Aside from farming, harmful chemicals may be introduced at all other stages
between farm and garment, including fiber processing (breaking the plant down
into a fiber), yarn spinning, yarn dying, fabric manufacturing, garment
manufacturing, garment dying and screen printing.
In addition to the harmful effects to the air, water and soil, we should
remember the workers who may also be affected by the toxic chemicals used in the
growing and processing of these fibers.
Whew! As if that wasn’t enough damage to health and environment by the
growing and processing of textiles used for clothing, bedding and towels, there
is more.
Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It absorbs. Whatever it absorbs
can get into your bloodstream and internal organs. And that includes the
chemicals retained in textiles.
Tests can be and have been performed to detect the chemical residues in
textiles. The International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of
Textile Ecology, based in Switzerland, has a certification for organic textiles.
It is called “Confidence in Textiles. Tested for Harmful Substances according to
Oeko-Tex Standard 100.” The list of criteria contains over 100 test parameters
to assure that the textiles do not contain chemicals that are harmful to health.
In the U.S. and Canada as well as Europe and Japan, dyes containing benzidine,
a substance that is easily absorbed through the skin, are no longer used because
they are highly carcinogenic. However, clothing imported from other countries
may contain these dyes.
Synthetic clothing, such as acrylic, nylon, polyester and vinyl, contains
plastics and formaldehyde. Any fabric label that reads permanent press, no iron,
crease-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, shrink-proof or stretch-proof, most likely
means that fabric contains formaldehyde.
Sleeping Organic
If you use poly-cotton bed sheets or wrinkle-resistant sheets, then you’re
probably exposing yourself to formaldehyde all night long. Formaldehyde resin in
these fabrics can cause fumes which can cause cancer, respiratory problems,
allergies, asthma, cough, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, restless sleep, skin
rashes and several other illnesses. Stain-repellent clothing and mattresses can
contain carcinogenic perfluorocarbons (PFCs), which are also an extremely potent
greenhouse gas.
Your mattress may also contain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs),
chemicals widely used as flame retardants, which are known to cause cancer and
are suspected of disrupting hormones.
Think of all the hours of every day that your skin is rubbing against these
fabrics and of the possible fumes that are released into the air you’re
inhaling.
Therefore, it is up to the concerned consumer to inquire about the entire
process from farm to finished good, or to be confident that the retailer has
evaluated their suppliers in order to be sure that the finished goods are
healthy to both planet and people.
Protect the Kids
So it’s no surprise that many people are shifting their purchases to organic
and eco-friendly clothing, bedding and towels. This is especially important if
your household has children and babies. Babies have the weakest immune systems
and are the most sensitive to external toxins.
Another group of people highly sensitive to environmental toxins are those
with chemical sensitivities, allergies and asthma. Unfortunately, these groups
are growing at faster rates than in previous times.
Choose Certified
Organic textiles are commonly made from organic cotton and organic wool.
However, the USDA organic certification only applies to the farming part of the
process. As a result, a standard has been developed jointly by organic
associations in the U.S., European Union and Japan called the GOTS, Global
Organic Textile Standard. This standard includes organic certification for the
farming, processing and dying of textiles as well as social responsibility
standards for each of these steps.
Even though purchases of organic and eco-friendly textiles are rapidly
growing, this sector still represents a very small percentage of the worldwide
industries. That leaves plenty of room for change. There is nothing more
important for individual health than the quality of the air we breathe, the
water we drink and the food we eat. For without these in a pure, healthy form,
life itself would not exist.
The corporate world in the past had enforced, and still tries to enforce, a
principle of “it’s okay unless proven harmful.” An environmental principle that
is slowly gaining ground reframes this position to essentially say, “Unless we
know for sure a process isn’t harmful why would we tolerate something that logic
and experience tells us could be detrimental to personal health and that of our
planet?” This is called the Precautionary Principle, which, in its simplest
incarnation, says, “Why take a chance?”
Ed Mass is President and Founder of
Yes It’s Organic, an online store for Organic, Fair Trade, and Eco-friendly
goods. After being an environmentalist for over 40 years, he decided to
participate more directly in trying to grow the organic, fair trade and
eco-friendly industries by educating consumers and influencing their buying
habits.
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