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.

What does ‘Eco-friendly’ mean?

‘Eco-friendly’ can be defined as both not harming the environment or proactively preventing environmental damage. There is no international standard for the use of ‘eco-friendly’ as a label, and is really too vague a lot of the time to be really useful. However it does encompass a philosophy, that in combination with organic certification, that helps consumers choose their products more wisely.

Basically the eco-friendliness of a product will depend on the renewability of the resources used, its ecological footprint, its biodegradability and the amount of synthetic chemicals used throughout the product life cycle. These chemicals include fertilisers, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, hormones, fungicides, and so on. Eco-friendly products are also free from genetically modified organisms.

Eco-friendly Children’s Clothing

What qualifies as eco-friendly children’s clothing? Organic textiles and clothing must be certified by an independent certifier to ensure the integrity of the product, who also sets the standards for the industry.  The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) sets basic standards upon which individual countries can base their standards. These standards apply to the growth, storage, processing, packaging and shipping aspects of the product.

Some of these standards include the avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs, use of farmland that has been chemical-free for a number of years, keeping a detailed written production and sales record, maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products and undergoing periodic on-site inspections. In many countries the commercial use of the term ‘organic’ is legally restricted to those who conform to national standards. They are also subject to the agricultural and food safety regulations that apply to non-certified producers.

Examples of eco-friendly children’s clothing would include articles made from organic textiles such as bamboo fibre, yak down, hemp, jute, organic cotton, soy and milk silk.

Organic Textiles

Toxin-free. Eco-friendly. Biodegradable. Efficient. Renewable. Why wouldn’t you prefer to use organic textiles for your children’s clothing needs? Good for the environment and good for your kids, organic clothing really doesn’t have a downside.

Organic textiles include materials such as organic cotton, bamboo fibre, yak down, silk, corn fibre, soy silk, jute, kenaf, hemp and wool. They are all cultivated without pesticides or herbicides, and turned into clothing without toxic bleaches and dyes. Organic clothing is produced to be eco-friendly, with a reduced ecological footprint- biodegradable, sourced from renewable resources, using resources (e.g. land, water) efficiently. Conventional cultivation and production of textiles have contributed to the disappearance of the planet’s rainforests

Bamboo is one of the best organic textiles as the plant is fast-growing therefore renewable, requires no additional irrigation or replanting (which saves water), produces 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees, takes in 5 times the amount of greenhouse gases, improves soil quality and prevents erosion. Furthermore, it is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, meaning that it doesn’t require pesticides or herbicides. It is biodegradable, meaning it will contribute to landfill waste, and if processed organically it will not introduce toxins into the land or water, or expose workers and animals to them either.

Organic Kids Clothing

So it is clear that organic textiles are great for the environment. But what about the benefits to your children? Organic materials come with many special characteristics not found in conventionally grown and manufactured textiles. For example, yak down is incredibly soft, silky and breathable. Bamboo fibre is naturally anti-bacterial so it reduces odors, as well as being incredibly absorbent.

Organic kids clothing also lasts longer because the fibres are not weakened and broken down through chemical processing. Of course, being toxin-free the clothing will reduce the amount of chemicals ingested. As kids are more vulnerable to harmful substances and developing rapidly, it is important to prevent unnecessary exposure to chemicals.