July 2008
People worry about pesticides on their food - but what about the clothes we wear? Joanna Yarrow outlines a pesticide-evasion action plan
If you want to build a gorgeous wardrobe that doesn't leave gallons of pesticide swilling in its wake, try the following...
Read the label: Look for garments made from certified organic cotton. This is grown without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, avoiding many of the environmental, health and social problems associated with conventional cotton production.
Start small: Begin with simple items such as T-shirts, which come in a multitude of designs from all sorts of suppliers, both in-store and online. Try the Sea Salt Cornall website, Natural Collection website or Buy Organics website.
Shop local: While many of the nicest organic items are available online, nothing beats trying on the real thing before you buy. To find organic cotton products in shops near you, visit the PAN UK website which has details of more than 120 brands, 150 retail shops and 250 online outlets in the UK.
Grab a bargain: Go to the Why Organic website for offers and discounts from many of the textile companies certified 'organic' by the Soil Association.
Ask for it! If you can't find organic clothing in your favourite shops, don't walk out in a huff or meekly swallow your principles and buy anyway. Talk to staff, call the firm's customer care line or contact brand-owners direct to find out what plans they have to offer organic fabrics.
Try alternatives
Hemp is easy to cultivate and pest-tolerant, so needs few or no agrichemicals and little water. No longer just for hippies, hemp clothing specialists include the Hemp Union Ltd, The Hemp Store, Clothworks and The Hemp Trading Company. Similarly, linen (which is made from flax) needs few chemical fertilizers and less pesticide than cotton. Look out for hi-tech fleece jackets and other items made from recycled drinks bottles, such as the jackets stocked by Patagonia and Marks & Spencer. And tree-huggers can now wear trees! German-produced Tencel, Lenpur and Modal have similar properties to cotton and are made from wood pulp using ecologically sensitive techniques. Or, even more surprisingly, look out for SeaCell, made from seaweed and cellulose, or Ingeo, produced from corn sugars.
Keep your eyes peeled: Organic clothing is one of the fastest growing areas of ethical fashion. New items and ranges are appearing all the time. Websites such as Adili are great places to browse a broad range of designers and find out about new developments in this area.
Love your clothes: Remember that, whatever clothes are made of, producing them will always have a significant environmental impact - if not in terms of pesticide pollution then the water, energy and others resources used to make them, as well as their disposal. So buy fewer, better clothes that you really love and treat them well.
Joanna Yarrow is a broadcaster, writer and consultant specialising in green living. She's GMTV's eco expert and presented BBC Three's Outrageous Wasters
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