Dear Umbra,
First let me say that I just discovered your column and have been happily spending most of my time reading your archives. Excellent stuff! I am a total fabric geek; I love to make my own clothes and other fabric-y items, but I worry about synthetics and chemical dyes and chemically grown fibers. I have spent countless hours on the web looking for a company that sells organic fabric by the yard suitable for wearing. Help, please!
Sara
Olympia, Wash.
Dearest Sara,
Thank you. I am not a fabric geek, so I’ve run into a little puzzle answering your question. I found online fabric for you—but is it unsuitable for wearing?
Organic cotton is expensive but clearly a good fabric to buy, especially in comparison with conventional cotton. The statistics on pesticides in conventional cotton are almost cartoonish. The USDA’s 2008 Agricultural Chemical Usage report tells us there are 10.2 million acres of cotton in 11 major cotton-producing U.S. states, and these acres received 52.25 million pounds of pesticides. Cotton uses more pesticides than any other crop, more than 10 percent of the world’s pesticides, and 25 percent of the world’s insecticides. Many of these chemicals are considered carcinogens. Organic cotton avoids conventional pesticides and the attendant water, land, air, and worker contamination problems.
Here’s what I did. I googled “organic cotton by the yard”—in fact, I mistakenly googled “... by the yeard,” and despite my typo found about 10 vendors within the first two pages. They have canvas, fleece, sheeting, terrycloth, wovens, knits, prints, solids, twill—am I repeating myself? as I said, not a fabric geek—and notions like lace, batting, bias, and thread. Many of the vendors also seem to use less-toxic dyeing procedures. Keeping in mind my near-ignorance regarding fabric, you may wish to start with a couple of pages I found interesting. Coop America had a very long list of vendors, including a nice one called Near Sea Naturals, and the various prints at Harmony Art seemed promising.
Aren’t “knits” a wearable fabric? I hope so, because if so I’ve answered your question, and if not we’re both back at square one. It also seems that a few of these folks sell wholesale to retailers, so somewhere out there are fabric stores selling organic fabric by the yard.
I hope you and other sewing readers will be able to find the right fabric for your crafty needs.
Battingly,
Umbra
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Comments
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Harmony Posted 12:45 pm
27 Jan 2009
Yes, knits are definitely a wearable fabric - think t-shirt material.
Thanks for the informative post and link to Harmony Art!!! We appreciate it!
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john6789 Posted 1:50 am
28 Jan 2009
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PermieWriter Posted 4:04 am
28 Jan 2009
Dharma Trading Company in San Rafael has wonderful natural silks in natural colors that they sell by the yard. They also sell natural dyes so you can make the silk whatever color you like.
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PARice Posted 4:45 am
28 Jan 2009
It would be particularly good to call and ask WalMart to stock organic material. I know, no one likes WalMart. But WalMart is mightily influential in the retail world, and if WalMart starts asking for more organic cotton, then more people will start to raise organic cotton.
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mihan Posted 4:49 am
28 Jan 2009
Their "natural" dyes are nice, too, though (to their credit) they do point out that often the "natural" dye is worse for the environment than a synthetic fiber-reactive dye (metals in the mordants, etc).
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mihan Posted 4:50 am
28 Jan 2009
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Beccane Posted 5:41 am
28 Jan 2009
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vpearcy Posted 6:48 am
28 Jan 2009
Mod Green Pod now sells organic cotton prints by the yard. While mostly used for home decoration projects, our fabric has been used by creative customers to make beautiful clothes. We sport many a Mod Green Pod skirt around the office, too.
We invite you to check out our revamped Web site at http://www.modgreenpod.com
Enjoy your project! It's so inspiring to see ideas from like-minded "fabric geeks"...
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rubiegreen Posted 11:35 am
28 Jan 2009
It's so great to see so many people interested in eco-friendly fabrics! I thought I'd introduce my little company as well called Rubie Green! http://www.rubiegreen.com/ We produce 100% organic cotton that's printed here in the states with non-toxic, water based inks :)
As for other sources I agree that Near Sea Naturals is a fantastic option, and if you're into silks then I'd also try Aurora Silk.
Go green!
Michelle.
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anchAK Posted 4:55 pm
28 Jan 2009
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leigh van dusen Posted 3:05 am
29 Jan 2009
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vpearcy Posted 6:50 am
29 Jan 2009
You are quite right about the chemical content often added to organic fibers. This reality, however unknown to most consumers, is one of the main reasons many of us smaller textile companies got into business in the first place. Mod Green Pod, for example, was started when our Design Director was a new mother and could not find enough choices for chemical-free fabric that also suited her taste for bright color and sophisticated design. We work just as hard to keep harmful chemicals out of our printing and finishing process as we do for the cotton ground cloth.
And we are by no means alone. Harmony is a textile pioneer and one of the strongest voices in the field for certification, so we believe that Umbra was quite right to mention her line. We are a huge fan of hers.
There are others, too, who produce by GOTS and continue to try to educate consumers about why buying organic is worth the modest cost difference.
It definitely is going to take passionate consumers like yourself and Sara, committed producers, dedicated voices like Umbra, and others to help identify greenwashing and make informed choices.
Thanks for sharing your voice and information. We are thankful, though, for Umbra's piece as being part of the solution, too!
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human power Posted 3:29 pm
29 Jan 2009
Interestingly, in the early '90s Monsanto pretty much forced many large cotton farms to plant their Bt cotton. By design, the levels of toxin protein in Monsanto's crops was too low to kill cotton bolls, but was just right to create resistance. (B. thuringenesis is what organic cotton farmers use to treat for cotton bolls.) Result: two years ago researchers began to find Bt-resistant cotton bolls. It is entirely possible that domestic organic cotton will not be available at all in another twenty years.
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AmyThompson Posted 3:57 am
30 Jan 2009
It has been somewhat difficult to communicate our point of difference to consumers who already think they are getting a "chemical-free" product when they choose organic textiles. I welcome your feedback and ideas on how to more effectively communicate this difference without negativity, as we recognize the value of the use of organic fibers as a first step.
For more info, we invite you to check us out:
http://www.tenfoldorganic.com
http://www.truly-organic.com
Thanks,
Amy
Tenfold Organic Textiles/Truly Organic Apparel
Seattle, WA
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ihatebugs Posted 10:59 am
31 Jan 2009
thank you
michelle
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leigh van dusen Posted 11:06 am
01 Feb 2009
It is sad that so much of US cotton is GMO cotton, which is prohibited by GOTS. But then again, currently there are no mills in the United States which are certified to produce GOTS fabrics. That means the wonderful US organic cotton which does exist is used in conventional textile production - meaning it's subjected to an onslaught of chemicals which are residual in the final product. We certainly support organic agriculture and if the mills use organic rather than conventional cotton, that's a big step forward. But I think US mills are missing the boat with their slow uptake on instituting environmental standards.
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dzdogs Posted 7:29 pm
04 Feb 2009
Best,
D
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