Sustainability is the way to go!

My dad used to tell me stories (and still does!) of his life in China. Due to Communism, he said it was very hard to find food to eat. Instead, people in his village cultivate their own food such as rice and vegetables, but also chicken and fish. Everything grew in an environment without any form of pesticides, and since villagers try to save as much money as possible they used animal feces as fertilizer and food to feed the fishes. Now, I know it might sound disgusting to you, but you don't even taste it when you eat the fish, trust me, I had some when I was visiting China in 2007! Here is a picture of rice plantations that I took during this trip:

It looks so pure and colors look so refreshing yet no pesticides were involved in this. I was wondering if this sustainability could work for cotton underwear, and found this video on Youtube:

Basically, the most toxic synthetic pesticide has been widely used in cotton fields, and this particular eco-friendly cotton farm in California has refused to use it. Therefore, the farmers have to monitor closely each plant and choose natural pesticide instead.

Dylan Ribkoff Apparel does mention sustainability in their products. They produce their underwear locally and they try to bring their materials into their factory in the most ecological way. This is another type of sustainability that could help improve our planet Earth.
I hope clothing manufacturers could emphasize on sustainable materials in the future because I would not mind spending a couple extra dollars for something that was grown in a 'healthier' way. Also, I hope this blog post would make you reflect on your purchasing decisions next time.

-Annick

Did you ever wonder why so many of our Clothes are made of Cotton?

Many of us know that our clothes are made of cotton, but only few of us know where cotton comes from and why so many of our clothes and garments are made from this textile.

What is Cotton?

Cotton fiber grows around the seeds of the cotton plant which is called GenuseGossypium. When it grows, it takes the form of a little bowl which purpose is to facilitate the spreading of seed dispersal. As almost all species, you can find many different species of cotton around the globe, which all have different characteristics. Cotton grows in warm region of the globe; you can find some in America, in Africa, in Asia, and in almost every tropical and subtropical region of the world.  

Why Cotton in our clothes?

The reasons that make cotton one of the most preferred fabrics of the clothing industry is that it is both breathable, which makes it comfortable for people when it's hot, and that it is also very easy to dye. Both of these characteristics make cotton very popular in the clothing industry, as style is almost always expressed with colors, and as people are more than often concerned with clothes that won’t make them suffocate. A final thought about cotton is that it is a natural fabric. That makes it less harming to people who are sensitive to certain chemical used in the production of other fabrics.

Knowing this, we can understand why almost all of our clothes, our T-shirts, hoodies, underwear and socks contain cotton.  However, cotton doesn’t only have advantages. You have probably noticed that it wrinkles and shrinks when you wash them and put them in the dryer. That would be the reason why cotton is frequently blended with other fabrics such as polyester and Lycra, in order to give it the benefits of both cotton and the other fabric.

I hope you that you have enjoyed reading my article and that you have learned something new about cotton. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment J  

- J.F.