Organic clothing brands make use of organic cotton, bamboo and hemp, as well as recycled materials.
Organic clothing brands are in business to produce quality clothing while making a positive environmental impact by supporting organic textile farming. Some of these brands use only 100 percent organic cotton, while others have expanded their lines to include all-natural wool, organic hemp, organic bamboo and recycled synthetics. The Organic Consumers Association lists the brands that use organic-only materials; in addition, they list brands that are "fair made," meaning the people who produce the clothes get fair pay.
Patagonia
Patagonia manufactures and sells fitness lifestyle clothing and technical sports clothing. Its mission statement is to "build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." It's a leader in the organic clothing movement, and one of the largest purchasers of organic cotton. Beginning in 1996, all cotton products produced by Patagonia were 100 percent organic cotton, and the company has not wavered from that standard since. Other environmentally positive fabric Patagonia uses include chlorine-free wool, hemp, recycled nylon and polyester, and tencel lyocell, which is made from sustainable eucalyptus trees.
Maggie's Functional Organics
Maggie's Functional Organics was founded in 1992. It sells socks, scarves, tights and baby clothes made of organic cotton. The brand is as committed to environmental responsibility as it is to fair labor. According to the company, "Cotton covers 2.5 percent of the world's cultivated land yet uses 16 percent of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop." Because developing nations produce 75 percent of the world's organic cotton, Maggie's Functional Organics is devoted to making sure its manufacturers practice honorable labor standards, including proper working conditions and fair wages and benefits. The brand has won multiple industry awards for being "green" and socially responsible.
Project Green Label
Project Green Label makes contemporary clothes in a young style for men, women and teenagers. Its line includes tank-tops, T-shirts, hooded shirts and jackets and long-sleeve shirts. Most of the T-shirts are either solid colors or screen-printed with environmentally themed messages and designs. The brand utilizes organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and recycled cotton in its fashions. Project Green Label donates a portion of its profits to tree planting by the Arbor Day Foundation in an effort to offset the carbon footprint of its manufacturing and shipping processes.
Bamboo Baby
Bamboo Baby is a relatively new organic baby and children's clothing brand from London. The brand's main goal is to "have minimum negative impact on the environment" while offering simple, well-made clothing. Bamboo Baby exclusively uses bamboo cotton or 100 percent organic cotton, but bamboo cotton is its favored material because it's the fastest-growing sustainable textile crop, it's watered only by rain, and it's naturally organic. Bamboo cotton has a noticeably silky-soft texture---an added benefit in baby clothing. The company uses electricity generated from renewable resources, runs an almost fully paper-free office and ships its products with recyclable and biodegradable packaging.
Tags: organic cotton, Bamboo Baby, Functional Organics, Green Label, Maggie Functional