What type of organic clothes should you buy if you are on a restricted budget? Is organic clothing better for your skin as well as better for the environment? What are the best fabrics for organic clothes? Kevin Gianni from The Restricted Health Show gets some interesting answers about organic clothing as he interviews Heather Baker, owner of organic clothes shop The Organic Acorn.

If you are looking to transform your wardrobe by purchasing skin and eco-friendly organic clothes, where do you start? Heather is very clear that the first items you should purchase are organic underwear, towels and sheets. Why? Because natural fibre clothing allows your skin to breathe properly and eliminate toxins by absorbing the moisture from your body (sweat!). If you use synthetic materials like polyester, these textiles don’t absorb moisture and therefore can create irritation on the skin.

Also, says Heather, given that our bodies absorb what is on and next to our skin, it makes sense to choose clothing that has skin friendly, non-toxic dyes used in organic production. Organic underwear for men is particularly important as this region of the male body absorbs 12 times more readily than any other part.

Much of the underwear Heather shows has a natural colour. ‘Why use dyes when you don’t need to?’, she asks. Darker dyes tend to be more toxic, and the excess dye is often released untreated into the environment. However dyes used in organic production are mainly fibre reactive which means you need far less to achieve the desired result and are environment friendly although tend to be more expensive.

Are hemp and cotton equally good organic fabrics? Cotton is usually softer, according to Heather, which means it’s generally more popular. It is worth noting that any hemp or bamboo clothing that feels extremely soft means the material has been chemically processed. This is quite different from natural hemp or bamboo linen, which uses more natural production processes – and feels more natural to touch. Although better than synthetic fibres, processed hemp or bamboo clothing is not as healthy for the environment as organic cotton or hemp and bamboo linens.

Filed under: Organic Lifestyle

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!