Organic and Eco-Friendly

What is the difference between Eco-Friendly and Organic Clothing?

When a garment is labeled Eco-Friendly it is first speaking to the renewability of the product.  Renewable resources are items that can be replenished in a relatively short amount of time (as opposed to millennia).  The second factor is the ecological footprint of the resource - how much land (usually measured in acres) it takes to bring one of the individuals (plants or animals) to full growth and support it. The third thing to consider in determining the eco-friendliness of a particular product is how many chemicals it requires to grow/process it to make it ready for market.  At All USA Clothing we carry a blend of Bamboo/Cotton garments that meet these rigourous standards.  Bamboo is a highly renewable grass, and it is probably this property that has resulted in its being classified as "eco-friendly". It also has natural antibacterial properties and the fabric "breathes".  The resultant cloth is biodegradable.

When an item is labeled as Organic it means that it is produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides.  We mainly carry items made with Organic Cotton.  Organic cotton is much more environmentally friendly than the traditional variety as it uses no pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides during the growing cycle. There are many growers of this crop, and the number is steadily increasing.  Usually manufacturers using this plant to make textiles follow up the process by using natural dyes to further reduce the amount of chemicals dumped into our ecosystem.  Even more promising is a new cotton that is grown in the tradition of the Aztecs - coloured cotton. Sally Fox, a biologist, spent ten years perfecting a coloured cotton with long enough fibres to be spun into thread. She managed to get it to grow naturally in shades of green and brown. It has the added benefit of not fading (in colour) and in fact, it gets more vibrant with the first few washings.