Posts filed under 'Organic Cotton'
The current spending squeeze has changed our purchasing habits, on the high street and online. Slow fashion is fast becoming the way we buy, even if we don’t know exactly what ‘slow fashion’ means. It’s a term that’s increasingly being used by the top retailers and designers to define the way that customers are moving away from ‘fast fashion’ ie quick knockoffs of catwalk styles that are sold very cheaply and not expected to last more than a season, to ‘slow fashion’ which is increasing seen as multi-seasonal, locally-made, organic, recycled or fair trade clothing.
Multi-seasonal means classic styling – no faddy buttons or strange collars, no odd logos or ‘witty’ messages and in simple, easily harmonising colours. Locally-made means produced nationally or even regionally, like Arran sweaters or Harris tweed, and organic and fair trade clothing is seen as fairer to the planet and more likely to have high quality materials in its manufacture, while recycled clothing is obviously hard-wearing (after all its been worn once!) and usually reasonably priced.
What does this mean for polo-shirts?
It means solid classic colours: white, red, navy, grey, cream and simple styling. It means that people are likely to make fewer, and much better considered purchases, and to want to ensure that all new clothing works with a number of items in their existing wardrobe. It also means more sales at the premium end of the market for organic and fair trade clothing because customers are engaged by the issues involved and will be prepared to save money on other things to ensure they can feel good about the few and essential clothing items they are going to invest in.
August 18th, 2008
As Britain’s beleaguered Prime Minister faces more criticism, more Treasury money being pumped into Northern Rock and more manoeuvring from his cabinet colleagues, Hadley Freeman, deputy fashion editor at The Guardian has some advice for him. She says ‘For heaven’s sake, Gordon, take off your jacket! … buy some shirts in colours other than “starchy white”, maybe even a loose polo-shirt for your off-duty moments, ruffle your hair up a bit and don’t be afraid of showing a wrist or two. Perhaps even consider switching your facial expression from “bitter glower” to “friendly smile”.’
Would it work? It’s a certain fact that recent political stars on the world of the Western stage: Barack Obama, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton – all have the ability to dress down in their more relaxed moments without looking like a complete prat. But each has had their own moment of sartorial disaster too: the anti-Obama campaign chose to use a photograph of him in West African dress at a ceremony to suggest he wasn’t really ‘American’ while we can all remember Tony Blair’s sweaty armpits on the conference platform in that light blue shirt, can’t we? As for Clinton and clothing, well … the least said about his ability to deal with his trousers, the better! There are dozens of examples of wardrobe failure in politics – for example, William Haig wore a baseball cap to a festival and lost public confidence immediately.
But there is something important about being able to dress down without looking daft. We see our politicians much more these days, and much more often when they are off duty and supposedly relaxed, but they don’t have the right that we all have to schlep around the place in old trackies and flip-flops: they have a duty to give the impression of power even while at rest. So I echo Hadley’s call, and will go a step further: by all means sport a polo-shirt, but why not also show yourself in a hoody and reveal your inner class victim, or take to the streets in an organic sweatshirt and show that what’s closest to your heart is a bit of fair-trade and social equality in purest cotton!
Gordon Brown courtesy of fotologic
August 5th, 2008
This is the question that www.nosymbolrequired.co.uk asked.
And the answer?
Well, it was http://www.saftag.com which was given an overall rating of 5 stars, another 5 stars for item quality, 4 stars for item value and 5 stars for item fit and sizing.
Mark Wallace, who conducted the review said, ‘I have had difficulty in the past sourcing good enough organic cotton t-shirts which will hold the reputation of my company. I used anvil organic tees for a while, which were in the correct price range, however they didn’t stand the test of time. SAF t-shirts are good quality, are not prone to misshaping after washing, and are easy to print on. The feel of the fabric is far superior to any other organic cotton tee I have managed to get my hands on. The sizes are acceptable and what you would expect. The colours are vibrant and also last well when washing.
His only quibble?
He wants to know when SAF will be bringing out a yellow tee!
White organic T-shirt courtesy of SAF
July 14th, 2008
Canadian politicians are fuming – they’ve discovered that Canada’s Olympic uniforms are being made in China! But Tu Ly, one of the designers who created them, is unapologetic about the situation. In an interview he made a robust defence of the decision to manufacture in China, ‘I would like to challenge these politicians to give up their cell phones made in China or their TVs, then maybe they’d really be on an even plane,’ he said. Ly added that his company has a code of vendor conduct to ensure its suppliers operate under fair working law and respect the environment.
But New Democrat MP Paul Dewar isn’t happy. ‘This is our Olympic team. We should be ensuring that all of our Olympic athletes are … wearing Canadian-made textiles and all of their uniforms should be made in Canada.’ The decision has sparked such controversy because the Canadian clothing manufacture market is in something of a decline at present.
The Hudson Bay Company, for whom Ly works, said that Asia is the only readily-available source for the specialist fabrics featured in the eco-friendly designs, which are specifically mandated to help athletes cope with Beijing’s heat and humidity. These innovative fabrics include bamboo, cocona and organic cotton. But the line of Olympic Supporters apparel is being made in China too, and that may be a more difficult case to fight, as souvenir buyers probably won’t be travelling to China!
For the last summer Olympics, Roots Canada made the athletes’ uniforms at home and outfitted Canada’s Olympic teams for every Olympics from 1998 to 2004.
Canadian Olympic team modelling their uniforms courtesy of JP Moculski, The Canadian Press
May 8th, 2008
Most people now accept that the climate change debate has shifted from whether we need to act to what we must do and how best to do it - and the clothing industry has been in the forefront of both innovation (organic and sustainable clothing) and criticism (sweatshops and carbon footprints). The Climate Change Summit 2008 is notable for the input that is being given by big hitters in the garment and textile industries. Taking place at the Regent’s Park Marriot Hotel between 12 and 12 February, the Summit offers delegates opportunities to explore the enormous changes that lie ahead and aims to help them discover how to make a virtue out of necessity.
Key topics include: climate initiatives that achieve both environmental and business objectives; designing climate change messages to win the support of sceptical consumers (in other words, how to communicate with your customers without being accused of ‘greenwashing’); a complete guide to using offsets and taking advantage of carbon trading; ways to report a company’s climate change objectives and achievements for maximum impact; and most crucially - how to manage the many risks of climate change. Speakers who have a major stake in the garment and textile industries include:
- Anabel Drese from Timberland
- Mike Barry, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Marks & Spencer
- Philip Charles Gamett, Director of the Continental Clothing Company.
National insights will be provided by:
- Jane Milne , Director of Business Environment at The British Retail Consortium
- Ellen Gladders, Manager for the Community and the Environment at Tesco.
Learn more at: http://www.ethicalcorp.com/climate/
International Conference Delegates courtesy of Oxfam
February 11th, 2008
With the green trend being given a high priority in both the retail and promotional sectors of garment selling many different solutions to the organic clothing question have been mooted. The three main raw materials that have emerged as a base for organic clothing are Soy, Bamboo and Organic Cotton. Each have their benefits and drawbacks, and it is worth examining each one closely to see which option will be best for you.
Soy:
Soy fabric is made from tofu production and is similar in texture to cashmere. This material is not as strong as Organic Cotton or material derived from bamboo and is susceptible to stretching after prolonged use.
On the plus side the material does not need to be specially made as it is a by-product of tofu production therefore it has the least impact on the environment of the three. The resultant material is extremely light, UV resistant and antibacterial in nature.
Bamboo:
Bamboo grows exceptionally quickly and can be grown without pesticides, therefore it is an extremely healthy and sustainable base for material production. Clothing made from bamboo pulp will be similar to texture as silk and be highly breathable, UV resistant and antimicrobial in nature.
Bamboo loses 60% of its strength when wet, so it’s not suitable for durable clothes, prolonged washing or industrial uniform programs.
Organic Cotton:
Organic Cotton is Cotton grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals. A full explanation of the process, how to identify it and the difference between organic and fairtrade cotton can be found Here.
Similar in texture to Standard Cotton, if a little softer, a t-shirt or polo shirt made using organic cotton will easily absorb moisture and be simple to embroider or print on.
When deciding on our Organic Range we here at Polo-Shirts decided that t-shirts made utilising Organic Cotton offered the most reduced environmental impact, whilst still maintaining the high quality and affordability of our traditional t-shirt range.
