This clip from Sundance Channel's show "Eco Trip: The Real Cost of Living" addresses the "true" cost of a cotton t-shirt and it's eco-journey. Check your local listings for the full 30 minute episode.
Why go organic and non-toxic?
Unlike conventional cotton, organic cotton is grown without pesticides, insecticides, and chemical fertilizers. Additionally, here are no chemicals used during manufacturing.
The benefits of an ‘au natural’ process are countless. Benefits to the environment include promoting soil health, supporting safer farming methods and protecting and conserving the water supply. Benefits to the consumer include: softer feeling, less irritating to skin (especially to babies) and a sense of pride knowing you’ve contributed to a healthy planet and are promoting a “green” lifestyle choice.
Fact: Each t-shirt made from 100% organic cotton saves one-third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and farm chemicals. (source: sustainablecotton.org)
Fact: Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10 percent of all agricultural chemicals and 25 percent of insecticides on 3 percent of our arable land; that's more than any other crop per unit. (source: World Health Organization)
Organic cotton and low-impact inks are great for moms, great for babies and great for the planet. Why wouldn’t you go organic and non-toxic?
Our Eco-conscious Partners
TS Designs uses water-based technology in its printing and, through their patented REHANCE technology, they can provide a bright, vibrant water-based print on a dyed t-shirt.
REHANCE is a water-based printing technology that alters the chemistry of a shirt so that it will not absorb garment-dye. Its purpose is to allow the printing of water-based inks on a dyed shirt while maintaining color contrast and vibrancy. Most apparel printers print a design on a dyed shirt. The REHANCE process requires that the shirts be printed, then dyed at high temperatures, meaning the shirts will always be preshrunk.
Spiritex's primary goal is to provide fine, buttery soft, organic cotton fabrics and finished products that anyone would be proud to own or utilize. Their aim is to be exemplary in order to enhance the eco-fiber industry as a whole. They source the finest third party certified organic cotton materials, which are domestically fabricated through select trading partners able to exhibit and ensure fair wage labor practices. All of Spiritex's processes meet or exceed the Organic Trade Association (OTA) standards for organic cotton processing.
