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

Cambodia Has Trouble With Their Cash Cow

The fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world.  Our choices about what we like to wear effect millions of people and drive the economy.  That choice about what shirt you like seems slightly less insignificant, yes?

Currently in Cambodia the garment workers are on strike for a doubling of their pay to $160 a month.  That means they currently make $80 a month, about the UN's standard for poverty.  Do you know that virtually all of the garment workers in Cambodia are women?  And, only about 5% of the factories they work in are owned by Cambodians?  Sure, Cambodia is far away and not seen by the West as anything to think about other than a possible cheap vacation destination.  So, why should it matter to you that there is a country far away that makes 80% of its exports from women working in factories owned by foreign investors?  And that their government is now shooting them in the streets for asking to live in less abject poverty?

This matters.  You are part of the swirling system in this world that gets your shirt to you that also thinks that women need not be paid enough to be able to buy adequate food.  Think about it, the government there values the opinions of the foreign companies over the well-being of their citizens to the point that they are literally willing to simply kill them.  Treating those who work in legitimate trades in this manner does not bode well for economic progress, stability and development.  And, if the workers aren't in the factories, how do you think you will get your new shirt?

References:  http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/01/cambodia-garment-workers-strike-turns-deadly-2014134464180721.html

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Cambodia

Photo from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/world/asia/cambodia.html?_r=0

Pound of Flesh

There are somethings about the fashion industry that bother me deeply.  One is the issue of worker safety.  It has been over 100 years since the Triangle Shirtwaist Company disaster--seamstresses burned to death in their NYC factory with no escape route.  The sad part is that it still happens.  We like to think that whoever made our clothes got to go home from work and hug their kids.  Reality says likely not.

Just because you bought something with a "Made in Italy" stamp does not mean that whoever made it was exempt from exploitation.  Reuters reports that on Dec 1, 2013, 7 workers burned to death during a nightime fire in their factory/dorm.  They slept in an area made of cardboard walls.  No wonder they never had a chance.  The factory had illegal building occurring that was not up to standards.  The article hints at that fact that the workers were working in near "slave-like" conditions and were probably illegal.  Too bad it doesn't elaborate on what life was like for those workers or what company they were producing garments for.  No dress is worth such suffering.

The worst fact is that this is not an isolated incident.  Tragedies of this nature seem to be regular occurances world-wide, like in Bangladesh, by WalMart suppliers, in Pakistan, and even factories in the US burn down.  Workplace safety is important, no worker should burn to death in a garment fatory.  What should you and I as consumers do about this?  Quite farnkly, I don't know.  Post comments of any ideas!

Thwarting The Felt Monster

So, I have this pair of work socks that are 100% wool and I have washed and dried them repeatedly.  The results?  Stiff tubes of felt that are so difficult to put on that it makes me want to cry.  I obviously did not follow the care instructions.   But, I have other pairs of wool socks that do great in the washer and dryer.  Turns out there is a reason. 

Sheep wool is a part of the skin of the sheep.  The fibers are covered with "scales"--little pieces of protein arranged over the fiber like the scales of a reptile.  All animal fibers have them and the softness of the fibers are directly correlated to how big the scales are.  Turns out that when you get a blob wool warm and wet and then agitate it, scales on the fibers all start to interlock with each other acoss the fiber strands.  Ever look at a piece of felt?  It is a clump of wool where the fibers have become all matted together and trying to pull it apart is an exercise in fulility.  It is like that because the scales on the fibers have become interlocked.  My socks have clearly turned to felt. 

What about my wool socks that are just fine?  Turns out there is an industrial process that can be used to treat the wool to prevent felting called Superwash.  This is a non-technical explanation--if you need a technical one, you will want to consult industry publications.  What Superwash treatment does is remove to scales off of the fibers or what amounts to gluing them down so they can't interlock with each other.  There are several different processes to accomplish scale removal--acid washes, polymer coatings and gas treatments.  All of these result in wool that is perfectly safe for humans to wear and use.  The processes themselves can be toxic to humans and can involve things like cholrine gas, ozone gas, or sulphuric acid.  Each process is subject to patent law and simply not something you can do yourself.  There actually is not a factory making Superwash wool in the US as the amount of wool needed to make such a facility economically viable is not available in the US.  If you purchase Superwash wool products they are probably from Germany, South Africa or China since that is where the Superwash facilites are located.  When wool felts it also shrinks, and since shrinkage can be undesirable the Superwash process was invented to combat this.  It seems be remarkably effective!

Some other factoids:
--not all washable wool is Superwash
--industry estimates say about 5% of Superwash uses acid methods and 95% use polymer coatings
--wool items made before the early 1970s are never Superwash
--while polymer-treated wool can go in the dryer, the heat from the appliance can cause the polymer to lose some of its effect so air-drying is the best way to dry Superwash items if you want them to maintain their Superwash traits.

Photos are of Madelinetosh DK in "Thunderstorm" and Malabrigo Rios in "Zarzamora", both are Superwash treated wool products