’)
I’m a big fan of silk. Especially now with eco-options like peace—also known as vegan—silk, in which the little worms are left to their own devices to break open their cocoons and fly away to spin another day, rather than conventional methods that boil them alive in their cocoons in order to harvest the silk thread in one unbroken skein.
But I digress. This post is about cotton. But not just any cotton, organic cotton. Think those two are the same thing? Think again. According to the EPA, five of the top nine pesticides used in conventional cotton production in the United States (including cyanide, propargite and trifluralin) are known cancer-causing chemicals. Cotton eats up 25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of its pesticides. It takes one-third of a pound of pesticide to make one conventional t-shirt, and two-thirds to make a pair of jeans. That’s a whole helluva lot of chemicals.
In contrast, organic cotton that’s grown, processed and produced without pesticides and other toxins is just as soft, wearable and durable as its chemical-laden cousin.
It used to be more expensive to get organic cotton goods. But as the demand has grown (thank you, Planet Green), the supply has too, and now you can get organic cotton sheets from The Company Store and towels from Macy’s. And you can get sheets and pajamas, like these from Coyuchi. I don’t know what they’re feeding the crops out there in Point Reyes, CA, but these are the softest, SOFTEST sheets and pajamas on the planet. Unimaginably soft. Like sleeping in clouds.
This should be the fabric of our lives.
Oh we have all kinds of eco-battles in our house, mainly based on what’s recyclable and what’s not. Note to husbands: Your empty iced latte cup? Recyclable. That wet paper towel? Not so much.
Actually, in our area, that iced latte cup *isn’t* recyclable. That wet paper towel, however, is extremely compostable. Same with dirty paper napkins (which seem to accumulate despite the fact that I never buy paper napkins, and we have a kitchen drawer full of cloth ones).
As for the iced latte cup, however: My kids and I decided that instead of using so many throw-away cups and straws and utensils, we would start bringing our own cups, and saving the plastic silverware, disposable chopsticks, and straws to reuse them. I bought a zippered pouch made from recycled plastics at my natural foods co-op, and after I’ve washed the plasticware, chopsticks, straws, etc. I stash them in the pouch, which lives in one of my many reusable canvas shopping bags along with our collection of travel coffee mugs (most are plastic, but I’m trying to gradually thin those out and replace them with stainless steel, when our budget permits). When I know we’re going somewhere where we’ll be getting take-out, I try to bring containers along as well. My husband gets all self-conscious, and is convinced that everybody thinks we’re weirdos, but I’ve actually gotten a pretty good reaction to it so far - most of the food service workers I’ve asked to put my food in my reusable containers and cups thought it was a great idea, and applauded us for our dedication. And yeah, maybe we’re the only weirdos doing it now, but..20 years ago I was the only weirdo with reusable canvas shopping bags, and now reusable bags are everywhere. As I tell my kids, I can’t make the rest of the world get with the program; all I can do is set a good example, and hope that others are inspired to follow it.
Sourceress this is an awesome idea and comment and I plan to be a weirdo just like you ;-) Meanwhile, you are our third Reusies winner so please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your full name and mailing address. Thank you!! xxRachel
I just signed up for your newsletter. I love this site! I’d like to win a set of Reusies too if you have one left to giveaway. Keep up the good work!!
Hello,
I see a comment that Sourceress it the 3rd Reusies winner, but can’t find a comment on the prior winners. I commented right away on 7/15 and have been checking daily with fingers crossed.
Am I missing the winners posts or doing something incorrectly?
Thanks…..and great site.
Sorry for the confusion, Kristine, I’m still working out the kinks! Look in the box to the right on the home page, “Who loves you, Mommy?” That’s updated with winner’s names and what we have left to give from previous weeks. And then in the newsletter you’ll see what we’re giving away this week. Hopefully this helps!! xxRachel
Thank you for the eye-opening post on organic cotton! I’m going to be much more responsible in how I shop now!
“wildlife”
While I can’t afford to buy organic cotton all the time, I do try to purchase it whenever possible, especially for items we sleep in PJs, sheets, mattresses, etc. I can’t stand the thought of my kids spending 10 hours each night sleeping in chemicals. Prices are getting better on these organic items too. I hope that trend continues. Getting rid of all those chemicals is better for us and better for the wildlife.
In our house we love wildlife. We live close to a wetlands preserve that our daughter’s school has frequent field trips to visit. Plus no matter who you are- it’s always cool to see a wild animal. So yay “wildlife”!!
As far as organic cotton- I love that I can get cheaper organic cotton sheets for my bed because they really do just keep getting softer, and they are better for my family! I love win-win situations! Thanks for more great resources Rachel!
“wildlife”
this article definitely makes me want to buy organic cotton goods and just more organic products in general. Its scary to find out how so many of the products we use today have such harmful chemicals in them
poor silk worms… this is the reason i stopped buying silk products, but i’m glad to hear about this new way of doing things (c:}
“wildlife”—- thanks for the chance!