Our little ones are the most precious things to us. We’d do anything for them and go to the ends of the earth to protect them from the ‘nasties’ in this world.
I would never have thought, however, that one of those ‘nasties’ could be the very clothes we dress our babies in every day!
Recently, I’ve become more aware of organic cotton baby clothing and I started to wonder just what was behind its recent surge in visibility and popularity — especially amongst the blogging community.
Here’s what I found out.
Why should I choose organic cotton baby clothes?
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I love to buy new clothes for Caterpillar but, until recently, I was unaware that the clothing industry is one of the highest-polluting industries on the planet, second only to oil.
Finding this out was a shock, not least because we’re not just talking about the synthetic clothing industry here.
The cotton industry (cotton being something that many of us would be fooled into thinking was a natural product) accounts for 16% of the world’s chemical insecticide releases – that’s more than any other single crop on the planet!
What’s worse is that, sometimes, residues of these chemicals can remain on finished items of clothing — clothing that we go out and buy and put on our babies!
It’s a scary thought, especially as contact with these chemicals has been linked to impaired brain development in foetuses and infants, as well as the development of allergies, skin rashes and respiratory problems.
How are organic cotton clothes different?
Organic cotton, on the other hand, is soft, hypoallergenic and produced without any nasty chemicals at all, which means final products don’t contain allergenic, carcinogenic or toxic chemical residues.
There are plenty of retailers and smaller independents that sell organic baby and children’s clothes, but one stand-out company that I’ve come across recently is Sense Organics.
Their entire philosophy is built around the idea that beautiful clothes should have a beautiful manufacturing footprint, too — not only to ensure high-quality clothes, but also to guarantee a fair deal for the farmers that grow their cotton, and the factory workers that manufacture their garments.
Infographic courtesy of Sense Organics
Organic cotton is not only safer for your children; it’s also more durable and noticeably softer than regular cotton — and the best part is it can last 100 washes or more before it starts to break down and lose its softness. When you compare that to cheaper, non-organic cotton products, it means it has the potential to last up to ten times longer!
If you’re conscious about spending your money ethically and sustainably, then you’ll be pleased to know that organic farmers aren’t forced to buy expensive, genetically-modified seeds, so they’re better off if you buy organic cotton children’s clothes too.
Plus, by eliminating toxic pesticides in the production process, organic cotton workers benefit by avoiding the associated health problems and deaths common in non-organic cotton production.
In short, when you invest in organic cotton you get a healthy product, you do a little good for the environment and the cotton workers, and ultimately you end up with gorgeous, chemical-free, super-soft organic cotton clothes for your kids…
So who wouldn’t want to buy organic cotton baby clothes?
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post with Sense Organics.
