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Organic Clothing and MaterialsCOTTON, HEMP AND BAMBOO DANGER!! DANGER!! DANGER!! Before you buy another article of clothing...before you acquire one more household item made from ANY fabric, there's a few facts you should know. First, cotton is THE most heavily pesticide-intensive crop grown in the United States. (Peanuts are second...but that's a different topic!) Second, ALL synthetic fabrics are manufactured from petroleum derivatives. What this all adds up to is that most fabrics used for anything today are very earth-unfriendly...if not downright dangerous! CHEAP...AT WHAT PRICE? While finished goods made from polyester, nylon, etc. are generally cheap, due to artificially maintained low petroleum prices, the actual cost to the environment of acquiring, transporting refining and manufacturing these materials is seldom taken into account by consumers. The amount of water and energy resources alone, if known, would turn off many buyers. Factor in the pollution these processes cause and most buyers would truly be shocked! PESTICIDES KILL MORE THAN PESTS! Today's pesticides are very effective. However, to be as effective as they are, they're extraordinarily strong, and long lived. The havoc they wreak after they do their job is daunting. They pollute the ground for years, draining it of natural nutrients, forcing the use of more, and more dangerous, fertilizers and eventually making it unsuitable for farming use. This is the heart of "unsustainable" agriculture. The pesticides eventually leech into and pollute the groundwater, making its way to our faucets and causing everyone a myriad of health problems. The workers that use them, most are undereducated and unaware, are at extreme risk for cancer and many other diseases. And finally, do they stick to the fabric through the manufacturing process? If they don't, it's probably due to the bleaching process most cotton is subject to. The bleach is even WORSE than the pesticides! These are NOT short-term problems. Once these pesticides are introduced, they'll be around for our grandchildren to deal with! ORGANIC COTTON? Now you know why NOT other fabrics...but why Organic Cotton? First, buying Organic Cotton products helps you avoid all the problems mentioned above. Your clothing is safe for you or your children, AND the world's a little cleaner and safer each time you make the Organic choice. Second, each time you buy Organic, you create demand. We all know how powerful the law of Supply & Demand is. If more people bought it, more would be more available...cheaper! Finally... Organic Cotton is buttery-soft, and gets even softer with each washing. It's stronger and more durable than most other fabrics. Color-grown cotton (undyed) actually gets bolder in color over time. Organic Cotton is a better long-term value than other fabrics, and it's an investment in our children's future! BAMBOO Bamboo is a grass, and grows like a weed. In fact, it's the fastest growing plant on the planet. It can grow up to three feet in a day. It doesn't need help from pesticides or insecticides, and it usually grows on rain water. Just think of the strength, power and self-sufficiency of this crop. The Donald Trump of crops; the Bill Gates of the jungle. If all this excitement has you feeling faint, don't worry, bamboo generates more oxygen than trees. We really love the stuff. The pulp from bamboo is ground up, and the fibers are spun into yarn. The resulting fabric (or t-shirt in this case) is great. Softer than cotton, with superior performance, bamboo wicks moisture, keeps you cooler, and is naturally antimicrobial so it doesn't retain odors. We know we're repeating ourselves, but we love bamboo HEMP Industrial hemp is also a grass and grows like a weed, because it is one. Like bamboo, it doesn't need any help to thrive. It has no need for pesticides or insecticides, and it grows on rain water. Like bamboo, it offers superior performance compared to cotton: hemp fibers are more durable, provide better UV protection, wick moisture, and are anti-microbial. (Please note that industrial hemp differs from its illegal cousin, marijuana, in that it contains almost no THC, the substance that gets you high). Until the late 1930s, hemp was widely grown and was America's fiber of choice. Popular Mechanics, in February 1937, predicted hemp would be the world's first "Billion Dollar Crop" that would support thousands of jobs and provide a vast array of consumer products from dynamite to plastics. Hemp is technically superior to cotton for fabric, trees for paper, and corn for biofuel. The first draft of our constitution was written on hemp paper, and George Washington grew hemp on his land. How did America come to favor cotton and trees over hemp, when hemp is superior in so many ways? One of the reasons the government combats the growth of hemp is they say they can't tell the difference between the hemp plants and marijuana plants. There is a huge difference. Marijuana plants are grown in widely spaced areas to maximize the leaf growth, while hemp plants are grown close together to maximize the stalk, which is where all the great fibers from hemp come from. Another benefit is that every part of the hemp plant can be used by humans from the root to the stalk, the leaf, the flower, the seeds the pollen and even the resin. Some other uses for hemp are charcoal, tars, methane and other flammable gasses that could help heat homes, for cooking and for the generation of electricity. Right now the government owns 90 million acres of farmland, where the government pays farmers not to grow crops. On a portion of this area alone, enough hemp could be grown to replace the use of fossil fuels and trees.The average acre of farmland can provide ten tons of hemp in four months. Because it's resistant to UV radiation, this plant is a shoe-in for success after we deplete the ozone layer. It is happening. Trust us. Another similarity to the bamboo, is that the hemp is used for healing. In the past, hemp has been found to reduce the intra-ocular pressure that causes blindness in glaucoma victims more safely and effectively than any other remedy. Not only that, but since we're talking about hemp, let's also take a look at marijuana. Marijuana provides relief from asthma, emphysema, anorexia, migraines, rheumatism, arthritis and insomnia. It also helps with the nausea that follows chemotherapy and with the wasting syndrome of AIDS. FACTS In Bangladesh, “bang” means marijuana so bang-la-desh means marijuana-land-people. However, because the US doesn't agree with the growing of marijuana, we thought we would just cropdust Bangladesh, killing the hemp root system. What's the big deal? The root systems held together the hillsides, which subsequently eroded during storms, causing flooding and massive landslides. Hemp can be used for many things other than shirts and paper, a few of which are mentioned above. Some other ways to use hemp are in nontoxic biodegradable inks, paints and varnishes, plant-based plastics such as cellophane and cellulose-based plastics. In construction, hemp can be used to make pressboard fiber, which usually come from immature trees. Hemp is superior in strength and quality to trees for this purpose. Also, panels, beams, studs and posts can be made out of hemp. In France, entire houses are made out of hemp, as Madame France Perrier has demonstrated. Using an ancient Egyptian recipe for hemp-based concrete, Perrier mixes hemp hurds (the inner fiber) and limestone and water to form a substance stronger than cement with only 1/6th the weight. Because this hemp-based concrete is more flexible than regular concrete, these houses are better situated to withstand earthquakes. In the 16th century, hemp was used to make maps, logs and Bibles because of its everlasting powers. Even today, some bibles are made of hemp because they will withstand the tests of time. For the belly, hemp is a great source of vegetable protein. It has a full complement of essential amino acids and essential fatty-acids. It's also been shown to lower blood cholesterol and dissolve plaque in coronary studies. It can be ground into flower and used to bake breads, cookies and all sorts of yummies. The seeds are extrememly nutritious and can also be pressed into edible oil like soybeans. Marijuana comes from the same plant as hemp (Cannibis sativa L.) but so do broccoli and cauliflower. Even the birds like the hemp, they eat the seeds and used to be included in retail bird-seed for years. The porridge used in the folk tales was often made form boiled hemp seeds which could be cooked alone or with other grains. Another name for this porridge was gruel. Hemp has moisturizing elements that are good for hair and skin. Between 1993 and 1997 in the US, over a half billion cannabis plants were found and destroyed by US drug agents. The shocking part is that only 14 million of those were marijuana plants. The rest were hemp. Hemp has had an illustrious history. A few places you will find hemp products are on the coverings of Conestoga wagons. They were also used in the saddlebags and blankets used on Paul Revere's famous ‘midnight ride.' HISTORY Hemp seeds have been found in archaeological sites around the world and the seeds were one of ancient China's major grain crops. Hemp seeds were grown in Northern Europe since medieval times. Christopher Columbus' ships were fully rigged in hemp. In the UK, 800-1800 AD indicates hemp crops were used until their peak around 100 AD before other crops began to be developed. In the 16th century, Henry VIII encouraged farmers to plant hemp to help supply the British Navy, not only for sails, but they helped construct battleships. Hemp might also have been found in shoes, parachute webbing and baggage. The US of A has its own fine history with hemp. Our Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were written on hemp paper, not to mention the first US flag was made out of hemp. Both Jefferson and Washington were hemp farmers. These are our forefathers, the ones who realized and wrote down our rights. Early US governments demanded the cultivation of hemp and you could be jailed if you didn't grow Indian hemp in Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut in the 18th century. Hemp was money. It was currency and was used to pay taxes for over 200 years. Try that today and the government will be knocking at your door and not to say thank you either. By the 1850's there were almost 8,400 hemp plantations in the US that had at least 2,000 acres of land or more. From 1842-1890 a cannabis extract was the second most prescribed drug in the US. Today, Canada grows hemp for health products and exports it to the US because of laws forbidding hemp plants to be grown on our soil. And then the conspiracy theories begin. While hemp was being cultivated, the process was a long and laborious one. Meanwhile, advances had been made with chemicals that made pulping wood cheaper than hemp. Back in that day, they had no idea the effects of the chemicals they were developing or the widespread and long-lasting effects that continue through today. Back then, chemicals were business and Dupont who manufactured pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers backed cotton production, where their goods would be of greater service. They also developed a nylon fiber similar to hemp. In the Industrial Revolution, anything not-natural was hailed as better than natural. Oh, woe is me.
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