Organic & sweatshop-freeRecent years have brought with them a sharp increase in awareness of the benefts of organically grown goods, as shown through current trends in the modern day marketplace from food to clothing. Just as cotton replaced polyester and other synthetic fibers of
the past as the fabric of choice, new materials created from organic cotton, hemp and bamboo are beginning to shape the fabrics of the future.

The effects of pesticides and insecticides used in the growth process of our food supply is now well known, and in direct correlation to the fabrics which we wear on our bodies each day and cover our children with at night. With conventional (non-organic) cotton accounting for an estimated 25% of the insecticides used globally each year, and with five of the nine pesticides used on conventional cotton in California now known to cause cancer (and all nine labeled by the US Environmental Protection Agency as Category I or Category II materials), the benefits of organic cotton and other materials becomes readily apparent. Even before one learns that the majority of these sprayed pesticides never reach their intended target, instead contaminating leaves, soil, water and wildlife. Of course, a paragraph or two can only offer a small idea of the negative impacts which conventional cotton farming have on the population and environment, so we have also included a fact sheet with this document which moves further into detail on the subject.

Organic cotton earns its stripes by first being grown in soil which has been pesticide-free for at least three years. Farmers rely on compost and other organic matter to enrich the soil, while controlling weeds using newly developed machinery and old-fashioned hand-to-earth methods. Frequent crop rotation and beneficial insects replace the use of the poisonous chemical sprays plaguing the conventional cotton industry, and we are left with a naturally grown, sustainable product ready for the marketplace.

Bamboo and hemp have also quickly become rising stars in the eco friendly marketplace due to their greater resistance to insects and weeds, as well as being able to grow quickly and naturally, using less water than cotton while improving soil quality during the growth process. While hemp continues to show its versatility not only in the garment marketplace, but in far reaching aspects of everyday living, there have been questions raised relating to certain aspects of the bamboo fiber production process, as well as the sustainability of the farms used to grow these products. For these reasons, Squeegee Science currently recommends organic cotton or hemp garments, while keeping a close eye on the evolution of the younger bamboo fiber industry.

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