The idea!
Pickled Green Clothing was set up (March 2009) to make ethical and sustainable clothes a more accessible and affordable option, hopefully then benefiting some of the huge number of people involved in the growing and manufacturing of clothes worldwide, an estimated 100 million households. The hope is that by working to increase the demand for organic cotton and sustainable fabrics the more opportunities for growers in developing countries to change to organic cotton and sustainable fabrics production methods there will be. In turn, the working conditions will also change to become fairer and safer than conventional fabric and clothes production. By buying ethical clothes not only do you get a great piece of clothing, but you know that those involved in its creation have not suffered in anyway.
To try and meet this aim, Pickled Green Clothing choses brands that use only certified organic cotton, sustainable fabrics and recycled materials and that also have similar ethics built into their business operations as we have. Pickled Green Clothing will then be out and about during the summers at various markets, festivals and fairs. Check our where to buy page for more details.
Why organic cotton clothes? Well conventionally grown cotton has a huge negative effect on the environment and the people who are involved in growing and making the garments. By choosing organically grown cotton, the use of toxic chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides reduces causing less damage to the soil, water courses, air and to the growers themselves. The use of pesticides has been documented to cause posionings and even death to literally millions of people worldwide each year (PAN UK). The end user does not escape either as pesticide residues have been found in the final garment and can cause skin sensitivity and irritation.
Another good reason to choose organic cotton is that the dyes used will contain less harmful chemicals and in some instances be completely natural, which again reduces the pollution to the local environment, improves the working conditions of manufacturers and results in less chemicals being leached into water sources, the air and ground, more...
Fairly traded clothes are made in fair working conditions that abide by the fair trade principles. Throughout production of the clothes no child labor has been used, everyone involved receives a fair wage and works under reasonable conditions such as, suitable tea and toilet breaks and working hours. So benefiting farmers, workers, consumers, the industry and the environment, more...
Although not Fairtrade certified the brands offered and those we hope to work with in the future have adopted and enforce fair trade principles and are members of Fairtrade associations in their respective countries, see individual brands for details.
Sustainable fabrics such as bamboo, hemp and banana are great alternatives to cotton that are often indigenous to the countries producing cotton already. They are fast growing and easily converted into fibres without having a negative impact on the environment or producers. They are also fabulous materials to wear.
Recycled pieces impact by reducing the amount of wastage that ends up in landfil. Either by converting the use of something and giving it a new life and purpose or by breaking down other materials to produce a new fibre, for example plastic bottles into polyester. Recycling clothes also makes us think creatively about the whole life of materials and offers up new ideas for future sustainable practices.
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