Dress for Green Success With Eco-Friendly Clothing

Eco-friendly clothing is not just good for the earth but excellent for your appearance and your health. The fashion industry has stepped up to the environmental concerns of our day to create exquisite eco-friendly clothing made from tenable materials. Eco-friendly apparel can be fashioned out of bamboo, organic cotton, hemp, reclaimed materials and even recycled plastic. It is biodegradable, cruelty free, chemical free, produced from sustainable materials and above all, fashionable!

Bamboo Eco-friendly clothing and linens made from organic bamboo have numerous advantages for you and the planet. The clothing itself feels like silk but usually doesn’t require the same special care. It is hypoallergenic, free of chemicals, anti-bacterial and protects your skin from UV rays. Additionally bamboo has superior thermal properties than cotton does while also repelling moisture. These properties give bamboo the ability to keep you from getting sticky and sweaty in the summer while keeping you warm in the winter months.

An example of the beauty of bamboo clothing can be seen by visiting the website of edgy green designer Linda Loudermilk.

When it comes to combating environmental problems, bamboo is actually a very good candidate. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, growing up to 3 feet a day. Plus it doesn’t need to be replanted because it is constantly producing new shoots. Fast growing plants like this provide a much needed carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis. In fact, young fast growing plants secure far more Co2 than mature forests. So when bamboo is harvested for clothing, flooring or furniture, the harmful green house gases are trapped and the plant’s successors continue the process of harnessing greenhouse gases while releasing oxygen as a byproduct.

Bamboo does not require pesticides or fertilizers, does not drain the soil of nutrients but actually replenishes it and helps to significantly prevent soil erosion.

Wearing as well as utilizing organic bamboo products in your home is a great way to help the planet, and considering its contemporary appeal, it’s an easy way to do it.

Please note that while managed bamboo crops are extremely beneficial, bamboo is an invasive species in many parts of the world. Check with your local Department of Environmental Conservation before attempting to plant it.

Plastic Clothing We’re not talking about vinyl attire belonging to certain subcultures, but rather a relatively new fabric called Ecospun which is owned by the American company Wellman Inc. This is a synthetic fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. The end product appears and feels no different than any other synthetic clothing you may already have.

On average, for every 1 pound of clothing made from recycled plastic, about 10 soda bottles are kept out of our overcrowded landfills. Among the benefits of using post consumer materials, Ecospun Fleece clothing caters to animal rights advocates by offering all the attractiveness of fleece but obviously it is material not taken from animals.

Hemp Hemp has generally received an unfair reputation for two reasons. First it is associated with Marijuana and although the two are related, hemp cannot be used a drug. The second reason is its infamous ability of calling to mind the type of burlap garb worn by hippies in the 1970’s. You can still find that if you like but hemp clothing also caters to many diverse and modern styles.

Hemp, like bamboo, is good for the environment. It can be grown on relatively small plots of land and replenishes the soil instead of draining it. It is easily and quickly grown and doesn’t require harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Eco-friendly clothing made from hemp is soft, attractive, easy to care for, and long lasting.

Organic Cotton Clothing Organic cotton clothing is generally going to be more expensive than the other types of eco-friendly clothing listed here. The reason is that growing cotton is difficult without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Traditional cotton crops require a lot of space, wreak havoc on the soil, and contribute to the release of greenhouse gases among many other noxious factors. Just one article of non-organic cotton clothing requires up to a pound of chemicals to produce.

Organic cotton on the other hand is somewhat sustainable. It is obviously grown organically, and the land is typically managed in a more responsible way. Organic cotton products are the product of smaller crops, usually family owned farms, where the fibers are hand picked and care is more labor intensive. If you are a die hard cotton fan try to choose and support the organic cotton trade, if not consider the more sustainable products listed above.

Greening your wardrobe can also mean shopping at consignment or thrift stores. Also be sure to donate or sell your old clothing as well. After all, there is no point in recycling if no one uses or rather reuses!

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