The Changing Landscape of American Organic Cotton

I live in a cotton producing area.  In October I drive past miles and miles cotton fields.  Bits of white fluff line the road like frost.  Yet, I've repeatedly heard "there are almost no cotton fabric mills in the US, much less one that makes organic fabric."  Really?  We grow mountains of cotton, I drive past them regularly.  Do we really ship it all to be processed overseas?

Turns out that since all of the stories that the American textile company was on its last legs, much has changed.  While thousands of factories closed in the last 20 years, they have also consolidated, improved technology and benefitted from being close to the major world markets.  In the last 3 years, the industry has expanded by almost 40% according to the New York Times.  No, it did not bring back the thousands of jobs that they once provided--much of the production is automated--but the ones they brought have decent pay and safe working conditions.  Imagine that!  Many of these revived factories have started oroducing organic cotton fabrics.  In 2010 all of the news stories seem to indicate there was only 1 organic cotton fabric mill in the US.  Now, I can find evidence of at least 4 on this site, not to mention the many others I was able to find through product references.  For instance, there is a mill that now produces organic cotton sheets here.  And another makes custom t-shirts--I bought one from TS Designs  and will write about it after it comes.

Be skeptical if you hear that the US doesn't produce organic cotton fabric--we have factories churning it out by the ton!

Photo from New York Times article linked to above

Vicuna--A Sweater Fit For The Sapa Inca

There's more variety to protein fibers than just wool & cashmere.  There's all kinds of different animals woolens can be produced from!  One of these is Vicuna, the hair from the vicuna animal of Peru.  Traditionally, vicuna in Incan culture was so valuable that it was only for the royals to wear.  Vicuna or Vicugna, is considered to be the finest and softest wool in the world at 12 micrometers in diameter--the fibers are only 70% as wide as cashmere and even better at trapping warmth.  It is so fine that normally, it is left its natural color for fear that dyes will ruin it.

Vicuna is a threatened species of camelid (camel!) native to Peru, Chile, Bolivia and other parts of South America, previously endangered.  What has allowed this species to come back from the brink is its wool.  The Peruvian government made it its national animal and came up with a scheme to bring both jobs to the locals and save the animal.  Once a year, the locals hold a Chaccu, a traditional shearing ceremony where the vicuna are rounded up, shorn and then released.  A vicuna can only be shorn every 3 years and there are specific standards for how long the hair can be in order to be shorn.  This system of only allowing vicuna wool to be harvested in specific situations and the ending of vicuna hunting has allowed the species to bounce back and become a very valuable commodity to the community.  The practices that are currently being followed are considered sustainable and vicuna is an eco-friendly textile.

There are some things to beware of.  Despite the best efforts of the Peruvian officials and community, there is an illegal trade in vicuna.  Because of this, several countries have outright banned it and many require an official certificate that it was legally harvested.  Make sure that you purchase your vicuna from a legitimate source and try to stick to an established, reputable company like Loro Piano or Jacques Cartier yarns.  Also, if you really look closely at most of the items that come up when you search "vicuna"--you'll notice that they're not ACTUALLY made of vicuna, instead vicuna is just the name of the color.  Don't be fooled and get stuck with lamb's wool!  The high price of vicuna is worth it!

Pictures from Livanti Alpacas and The Guardian

You may also be interested in my prior posts about Qiviut and Ramie

Have A Green Day With Terra Plana

I think the whole green movement thing is kind of cool.  I don't think it should matter what you think of global warming, instead the concept of living with less trash should be important.  Lots of trash seems like a real bother because, lets face it, trash sucks and no one wants to live in a pile of it.  One of the ways to have less trash is to buy things from recycled materials.  That's easy enough with recycled paper and such, but for fashion its a bit more difficult.

Okay, so it is a lot more difficult, especially if you don't want to wear some stranger's old clothes.  Trying to find cool reworked clothing is nearly impossible.  There's Libertine.  And, well, I can't think of anyone else.  But, for shoes there is Terra Plana.  They make footwear from recycled materials that doesn't look like a cut out from an old tire--imagine that!!!!  Their shoes actually look...fashionable.  One of my favorites is the Dionysia in grey.  It looks like an actual fashion item.  Not only does it not scream "OMG, look at me, I'm such a hippie!" but it is made of vegetable-dyed leather, eco-friendly memory foam, and a sole made out of recycled materials.  That's cool.  You could actually wear these out of the house and feel super stylin' while knowing that your shoes are not making the world more full of trash.  Awesome.

Another one of my favorite pairs is the Melito.  I actively want this shoe.  It has a covered front platform, stitching details, a stacked heel and a really cool print.  Turns out the print fabric portion is made out of old quilts from Pakistan.  Yes, really.  Traditional Pakistani quilts.  That's awesome.  Its pretty, fits with current tribal-inspired trends and is so unique looking but in an awesome way.  The kind of way where strangers stop you in the street and ask about your shoes because they want some too.  Plus, they have memory-foam insoles, so I suspect they're comfortable.  Not bad.

The only problem I see with these shoes is that for some reason they don't carry alternate-width shoes.  Someday, when sustainable shoes become more popular my wish is that they carry "narrow."  Until then I get to live vicariously through pictures.

Pictures from Terra Plana

You may also be interested in my post about another green designer, Deborah Lindquist

Thank You!!

Huge thanks to Fake Plastic Fish to featuring me on their website!

Fake Plastic Fish is a website dedicated to one woman's quest to live without plastic and to focus on reducing waste.  She featured my interview with Deborah Lindquist, an LA-based designer that strives to use all recycled materials.  Fake Plastic Fish is a great site and make sure to visit it!

Mohair--When Goats Grow Hair

Mohair is one of those textiles where the name gives you absolutely no hint about what it actually is.  It isn't like there is a "mo"-creature running around that you can point at and say "hey, that thing makes mohair!"  The only hint from the name is that it is some kind of hair, and hopefully not from your cousin Mo.

What it actually is happens to be hair from an angora goat.  Keep in mind that this is not the same creature that makes what we call angora--angora comes from a rabbit.  Why is an angora goat not called a mohair goat?  Your guess is as good as mine.  The history of the goat is kinda murky, probably because as history has rolled along there have been more interesting things to document than the domestication of particular goat species.  But, it seems to be a variety of Asian goat that Turkic tribes have traditionally raised, based on the regions and dates several websites have cited in their histories of this particular type of goat.  What makes it different from the cashmere goat is that the cashmere goat has two different layers of hair, with the underlayer being cashmere, whereas with the mohair goat only grows one layer of hair and that is mohair.  Also, to get the best hair from an angora goat it is shorn whereas a cashmere goat is combed.  The best mohair comes from younger goats (think cute, fluffy baby goat!).  Mohair is considered a sustainable fiber because goat hair is an easily renewable resource and can be done using sustainable farming methods.

The processing of mohair is pretty much like that of any other animal hair.  It needs to be washed, combed and then spun.  It is great for dying and holds the color really well.  Once is has been processed, the yarns can be used for just about anything.  The finer, higher quality mohair is used usually for garments, like this Missoni cardigan.  The lower quality mohair is used for things like carpets and industrial uses.  The grading of quality has to do with the thickness of the individual hairs, with the thinner the hair the higher the quality.  So, that mohair sweater that you've been rocking all winter is actually made of goat hair!

Top picture from Angora Goat and the sweater is from Bluefly, other information from wikipedia and personal experience.