New Treasures

All around us, the world is showing visible signs of damage, due to activities humans are partaking in. Many people, though, are realizing that it is a lot easier than they had thought, to reduce their carbon foot print on earth. By exchanging small items in your lifestyle, with organic items, is a step in the right direction. There are household items you can do this with, but my personal favorite is your wardrobe and the items it holds.
Since everyone has a different personality, everyone has a different sense of style with fashion. The one element that can be agreed upon by every person, is that using organic fabric will help future generations. By reducing the pesticides used for cotton fields that are leaked into the air, can alone have a severe impact. In a article written back in 2004, about organic cotton clothing sales, and the increase in the U.S., Beth Wilson wrote a direct quote from Rebecca Calahan Klein, president of Organic Exchange, stating, “From an environmental standpoint, every pound of organic cotton means about one-third less pound of pesticides in the U.S.,”.
To me, that’s a staggering amount. If everyone would buy organic cotton, it would reap so many benefits. Yet, unfortunately, most people aren’t looking if something is organic or not, they’re looking to see if they like the style. And since everyone has a style, it’s hard to hit that one home every time. Yet, back in 2004, Wilson also stated in her same article, that Nike was the leading retailer use of organic cotton. Since Nike is such a huge company, this helped push forward the whole new era of organic cotton, showing that not only is a beneficial for the environment, but can come in new cutting edge styles, and doesn’t have to be uncomfortable.
Green clothing is even venturing into children’s fashions. There are a few websites I have come across, that cater to children’s clothing, and have affordable green clothing options available. Nimli.com has a great assortment of clothing for children, both boys and girls. Shirts range from the twenty’s to thirty’s. They also have pants, jackets, shoes and handbags and dresses for young girls. If you’re looking for a baby shower gift, they also have onesies for newborns that borderline the same price range.
Nimli.com doesn’t only cater to children though. They have a wide variety of clothing, for all ages, men and women alike. There are plenty sexy, youthful dresses for young modern women and even undergarments to wear beneath what you buy. This website seemed to have a bit of everything for anyone. There’s also beauty care and even home décor for sale.
Other ways of going “green” when you live on a tight budget, include the reuse of old clothing. Taking a skirt and remaking it into a shawl, or cute handbag, is just as conducive to helping with our environment as buying new organic clothes. I found a great website that had a few tips on how to turn old treasures into new treasures. Planetgreen.discovery.com, under the fashion and beauty section, had 8 different ways of rescuing what was once an old piece of worn out, or out of style clothing and making it hip again.

My favorite one was the 5-step way to turn your once loved maxi dress into a new flirty mini-dress. Even though it’s starting to get a little chilly now, it’s still Florida, and there’s always going to be days in the winter when you would kill for a comfy dress to run around in during the day so as to not sweat like a maniac. The tips are also given from a Project Runway alum, Diana Eng from a website, craftzine.com, which specializes in crafts (Hence the name).
Another great tip was how to turn left over scraps of material into a great new fabric necklace. Then you have a new accessory for an old t-shirt, or tank, which can change the whole attitude of what was once a drab ensemble.
If you aren’t very handy with the scissors, or sewing machine, there is always thrift stores where if you sift through them a bit, could possibly turn up some treasures. Personally, I wish I could do all the projects listed above to better my wardrobe, but I am not as good as using my sewing machine as I would like. So this tip was probably the best one for me to use on reducing my carbon footprint on our earth.

Bamboo is the new Cotton

Who knew that panda bear’s favorite food would wind up being the core center of a new fashion? A semi-new all organic clothesline, Panda Snack, was founded in the summer of 2005, by Deborah Bovia and Dearrick Knupp. Their mission is, “to create a lifestyle brand using bamboo fiber, to make innovative cool products and mix it with our own design philosophy,” a direct quote from the ‘About Us’ section on their website, http://pandasnack.com/.
The choice of using bamboo, is not only due to the fact that it is renewable and sustainable, but also doesn’t require any pesticides or herbicides to grow. Panda Snack bamboo comes from farmed bamboo, instead of forests. On top of this new clothesline creating their own organic clothing, they only team up with manufacturing partners who show the same enthusiasm for the environment.
Their clothesline they have constructed is a knit collection for both men and women in a classic sense, with an added twist, and special attention to detail. Recently Gliving.com posted an article about Panda Snack along with some pictures of their line, which is what sparked my interest. I decided to check out their website myself, to form my own opinion on the new bamboo clothes. The clothes definitely have a sleek, classic look, even borderline preppy on some styles.
The majority of the Fall ‘08 collection was composed of v-necks, t-shirts or polo style shirts. This disheartened me, since this is not the kind of style I would normally wear, or be a fan of. Yet, due to the fact that it does seem cutting edge, just with the material alone, I definitely condone those who do rock this new fetish.
Fashion isn’t the only place being affected by bamboo either. Stores and websites all around are starting to join in on the new organic breakthrough. Bed, Bath and Beyond sell 100% bamboo sheets. West Elm, a furniture and accessory store, sells bamboo throws, blankets, and serving bowls and trays for the kitchen. It seems like this may be a new favorite trend!

Actual Problem, or Trivial BS?

Going Green has become this whole new trendy thing that it seems people are following for no apparent reason, other than they think it is “hip”, or “cool”. I mean, who really cares what’s going on with our planet. We’re not going to be here to see the repercussions of our actions we take right now. Recently I stumbled across another blogger, who is interested in going green in fashion and beauty. One article Ms. Jessorz wrote stated that a premiere web marketer of Eco-friendly clothing, called Azalea Online quoted “High-yield cotton farming, worldwide, uses about $2.6 billion worth of pesticides a year. 35% of that is used in the U.S. It’s harmful to humans and wildlife, contaminating water supplies and killing native species."
Is this really going to convince anyone to change their wardrobe? Only 35% of these pesticides are used in the United States. Break that down into individual states, and that’s under 1%. So Florida alone, where we live, is barely affected. Why should we care about the other 65% being used throughout the world. We have a big enough planet where none of this will come back to bite us in the ass.
Instead of spending extra money on these “organic” cotton clothes, in an attempt to help save our planet, I would rather save my money, and just buy whatever is cheapest. We’re not going to be suffering from what these cotton farms produce until long after I’m dead.