Organic and Eco-Friendly Products

Sustainable Living

Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s use of the Earth’s natural resources. The idea is to live in a manner that is sustainable long-term in relation to the planet’s cycles and resources. Sustainability is a concept concerned with meeting present ecological, societal and economical needs without compromising these factors for future generations.

Sustainable living has been described for this century as ’shifting to a renewable energy-based, reuse/recycle economy with a diversified transport system’. Two factors related to achieving sustainable living include sustainable design and sustainable development. Sustainable design refers to the development of appropriate technology for creating sustainable living practices. Appropriate technologies could include the development of carbon sequestration, wind power, solar power, non-fossil fuel cars and so on. Sustainable development is the use of these green technologies in infrastructure.

One way to increase the sustainability of one’s lifestyle is to use eco-friendly, non-toxic and organic products and clothing.

Eco-Friendly Products

Ettitude produces a range of eco-friendly, affordable and unique products ranging from baby and children’s organic clothing to luxury towels. Their collection of baby clothing redesigns the basics in 100% organic cotton to be modern, practical, stylish, low-maintenance, durable and often multi-functional: from T-shirts to rompers, pants, sleepsuits, beanies and blankets.

Ettitude also offers a range of bamboo fibre bed and bath products that are highly absorbent, anti-static, hypo allergenic, incredibly soft and silky, and 100% biodegradable. These include hand towels, face towels, kitchen towels, bath towels, quilt cover sets and sheet sets.

Then there is their range of eco laundry products that are tough on dirt but gentle on your clothes and the planet. They remove stains, thoroughly wash and soften clothes, but contain no chemicals. Their laundry balls not only last for 1000 washes (approximately 3 years if you wash every day), but are refillable so you don’t need to throw them away. Their laundry balls, dryer balls and stain sticks are toxin free so the washing water can be used as grey water.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a highly versatile plant, used for a wide range of purposes throughout the world. The bamboo plant is found in diverse climates, and occurs frequently throughout East Asia, India, sub-Saharan Africa and in the Americas (south of the Mid-Atlantic USA). It is the fastest growing plant on Earth, and has been measured to grow as fast as 121 cm in 24 hours, and all bamboos grow to full height within 3-4 months.

Bamboo is eaten by Giant Pandas in China, Mountain Gorillas, chimps and elephants in Africa. Bamboo shoots are also used in a number of Asian dishes. It is also used in its fermented state across the Himalayas, such as the dish khorisa. In Indonesia it is used to make gulai rebung, which consists of sliced bamboo shoots boiled in coconut milk and spirces. They can also be pickled, used in various natural medicines (it is source of potassium), for musical instruments (such as the bamboo flute and bamboo organ), textiles and paper.

Bamboo Baby Clothing

Due to the fast-growing, renewable character of bamboo, as well as the fact that it contains natural anti-bacterials and anti-fungicides, bamboo is a great resource for organic produce. It also requires no additional irrigation or replanting, produces 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees, takes in almost 5 times the amount of greenhouse gases, improves soil quality and helps prevent erosion!

In addition to all that, it can be used to create comfortable, silky, breathable material for baby clothing. Its natural antibacterial and antifungal nature means it is odor resistant and great for those with allergies. It is also 60% more absorbent than normal cotton due to the make up of the fibres. Organic bamboo clothing will prevent the leaching of toxic chemicals onto your baby, keeping them healthier as well as helping conserve the environment.

Eco-friendly fibres

The eco-friendliness of fibres depends on several factors including renewability of the resource, its ecological footprint, its biodegradability and the amount of chemicals/pesticides that are used in its cultivation and processing. Renewable textile resources are ones that can be replaced in a short period of time as opposed to decades, centuries or millenia. One example of a highly renewable resource is bamboo, as can be cultivated within 4-5 years and grows remarkably well under a variety of conditions. Its ecol0gical footprint refers to how much land and how many resources are consumed in the cultivation and maintenance of the plant. Hemp is one material that has a very small ecological footprint as it requires no irrigation, no fertilisation or pesticides, and it grows very quickly. The rate of biodegration refers to how long it takes a material to breakdown, the quicker the better as it reduces waste. Once again, bamboo has a high rate of biodegradation and is therefore very environmentally friendly. Lastly, many textiles use a large amount of chemicals to process, bleach and dye the textiles. The toxins used are transferred into the material and eventually in the ecosystem as it becomes waste.

Which materials make eco-friendly clothing?

The textile industry is one of the most harmful to the environment. For example, the use of rayon in clothing has contributed to the fast disappearance of the earth’s rainforests, while synthetic textiles that are based on petroleum do not degrade easily and pollutes air and land. Fortunately there are more eco-friendly textiles for use in clothing, bedding, and other linens. These include silk, kenaf, hemp, jute, wool, organic cotton, corn fibre, milk silk, soy silk, and bamboo fibre. These fibres come in a variety of textures, colours, some are knit while others are woven, and many come with special characteristics not found in less eco-friendly materials. For example, hemp is quite rot resistant while bamboo fibres are very absorbent. In addition, many of the products made with these materials are often available at a cheaper rate.