I have been seeing this trend pretty much everywhere-department stores like Bloomingdales, men’s and women’s clothing stores like H & M and the Gap. There are fashion designers such as British designer/activist Katherine Hamnett who focus entire clothing lines on the organic cotton movement.
Katherine Hamett organic cotton tee
And I want to understand the meaning behind this organic cotton trend. Because when I read a label that says “Organic Cotton”, I get all excited and expect the actual garment to be more comfortable. Or breathable. Or some basic improvement in its wearability. But I have experimented with organic clothing garments, and I submit that it is no more comfortable than the average shirt or slacks. In fact, the only thing that has changed is my fear that I will find a squashed bug enmeshed in the fibers of my shirt. So, who started this trend? It was absolutely brilliant from a marketing standpoint, but other than that it makes no sense whatsoever.
1 response so far ↓
Harmony // December 13, 2008 at 5:03 am |
You are correct, organic cotton is physically not any more comfortable than its conventionally grown version. How soft has much more to do with how the fabric is processed than how it was grown. However, the impact of cotton our our global environment/economy is HUGE! I highly recommend you check out:
http://www.ejfoundation.org/page327.html
Another recent post you might enjoy is: http://ethicalfashionaddicter.blogspot.com/
I think you might find organically grown and GOTS (global-standard.org) processed cotton to be a much more “comfortable” decision once you understand the implications of your choice.