Organic and Eco-Friendly Products

Most people who choose organic do so because they ‘just know that it is better for them’ but how much impact can you actually have on our environment by choosing organic?

What is the extent of the problem?

Over time, pests have built up a resistance to pesticides. For this reason more and more pesticides need to be used in higher and higher concentrations to effectively kill pests. In 2000 alone, 940 million pounds of pesticides were used.

Research has shown that pesticide related acute poisoning and cancer account for over $1.1 Billion dollars of the public health budget each year.

What affect is it acutely having on me?

Research has indicated that there are links between the exposure to pesticides and the following health conditions:

• Immune system suppression
• Nervous system disorders
• Reproductive damage
• Cancer
• Parkinson’s disease
• Respiratory problems
• Skin and eye irritation

Who is most at risk and why?

Children are at the highest risk of being affected by pesticides. This is due to the fact that they have a very high metabolism and low body weight.

Pregnant women also need to be very aware of their exposure to pesticides and the effect this will have on their unborn baby.  Over exposure to pesticides during pregnancy has been suggested to contribute to autism, obesity, asthma, brain cancer and other childhood cancers.

What can I do about it?

Choosing organic options will dramatically reduce your exposure to pesticides. Any product produced under organic conditions is strictly prohibited against the use of any pesticide or chemical. Organic farmers therefore use biological and cultural methods to remove pest.

Ettitude is a company that strongly believes that each person or organization can make a different by the choices they make. They manufacture a wide range of baby and kids clothing, bamboo bedding, lien, down products and luxury towels that are all 100% organic and echo friendly.

Towels

A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth used for wiping or drying, whether to dry yourself or something else. The material draws moisture away from the body through contact, otherwise known as wicking (the flow of liquids through porous material). Bath towels are generally woven with a loop or pile for absorbency. Usually this involves the use of a dobby loom. Dobby is short for ‘draw boy’, which refers to the weaver’s helpers who used to control the warp thread by pulling on draw threads.

Bath towels are generally produced in single colours, although some are decorated with embroidery. The reason for not printing designs on towels is that towels are exposed to a lot of water and would probably not retain their patterns very long.

Traditionally produced towels are made from cotton or a blend of cotton and polyester. The raw material is spun into yarn, coated (with products such as PVA starch and wax), woven into fabric, bleached, dyed, hemmed and labeled. All towels are bleached white before it they are dyed, using chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, caustic defoamers and so on. The wet linen is subjected to high temperatures to create a chemical reaction, then it is washed a couple of times to rinse out all the chemicals. This process not only creates toxic byproducts as waste and uses huge amounts of water, but also leaves you exposed to toxic chemicals.

Bamboo Towels

Towels made from bamboo fibre are more environmentally friendly than traditionally made towels. Not only are they made from a highly sustainable and renewable resource that is naturally antifungal and antibacterial, but they are not treated with toxic chemicals such as bleach.

Bamboo towels are highly absorbent, silky smooth in texture, breathable, odor resistant and hypoallergenic. They are extremely durable because the pulp fibre is extracted naturally through steaming and boiling, not chemical processing, so its special structure is retained as are all its incredible properties.

Bathroom Etiquette: Towels

Bath towels, face towels, hand towels…what’s the difference? Which are necessary for when you have guests coming to stay? Bath towels are large rectangular towels used after showering to dry oneself off. Often these are placed in the guest’s bedroom in a neat stack, or in a stack near the shower. It useful to keep a stack of towels in the bathroom as many people can forget to take a towel in with them which can lead to an awkward situation. Women will often use two towels (one for drying their hair, and the other for their body), so it is a good idea to place more than one there.

A face towel (also known as a flannel or washcloth) is used to apply soap to the skin, and should be placed with the bath towel. These are used because the abrasion from the towel removes dead skin cells very effectively. Alternatively, bath sponges can also be used. A hand towel is used to dry your hands after washing them, and is usually hung on a rack near the bathroom vanity. These should be changed regularly with clean ones for hygiene. Bath mats are also usually provided for placing in front of the shower to dry off on. These should be hung up after use to ensure that they will dry properly.

Luxury Bamboo Towels

Why use bamboo towels? Towels are made out of absorbent fabrics to draw moisture away from the body. Bamboo fibres are one of the best materials to make towels out of because of their highly-absorbent nature. Bamboo plants can take up to three times its weight in water. When it is turned into fabric this means that it will draw the moisture away from the body for evaporation. This is described as a wicking or capillary action, which is when liquids flow through a porous material. As a result, bamboo fibres are also used in clothing as it draws the sweat away from the body leaving you warm and dry.