How to "Buy Green" Clothes Part 1

By Karissa Kilgore

Who could have guessed that "buying green" would no longer mean choosing between forest, kelly, mint, and lime? While your choices still include those colors, your options are no longer limited to various percentages of polyester, rayon, spandex, and "other materials." You have options, and they all involve your will to help the environment.

Each of the natural materials described below has its own special properties; so one material isn't better than the rest. Though you might find a favorite you love to wear, you also might find some that suit your needs for everyday wear, but not when you're working out, and vice versa. These environmentally friendly materials can be blended together to create unique textures, too. Be sure to ask your local boutiques if they carry goods made from these materials so you can feel them, try them on, and take them home!

Organic Cotton: Not your Grandma's Cotton

Grown without pesticides and processed without harsh chemicals, organic cotton is as pure as snow is white. Not only does organic cotton feel better than chemically processed cotton, it is better.

For the environment, that is.

Farmers grow organic cotton by using special methods. Intercropping, or companion planting, pairs crops with the cotton to protect it by attracting good insects and diverting harmful ones. This technique can cut down or even eliminate the need for pesticides.  Furthermore, cotton can only be labeled organic if it's been grown in soil that's been chemical-free for three years.

Organic cotton is becoming more popular due to its natural, gentle properties.. While less than 1% of the world's cotton is grown organically, buying it will help those who farm it to sustain and grow their production, making it more available to the general population.

Some manufacturers use blends of organic cotton, and their products can be found in retail stores (check the tags!). If you want 100% organic cotton, though, your best bet is to shop online. Most articles of clothing can be bought via the Internet. Also, online merchants often tell you if there's a percentage of your bill that is designated to support sustainable farming, to raise awareness for the environment, or even to plant trees.

Bamboo: More than just soft

Lucky for us, bamboo is the world's fastest growing plant. With its awesome qualities in clothing production, it's a wonder we haven't latched on to this resource sooner. Those panda bears know that it's yummy, but we have only recently discovered its other uses.

Soft and durable don't normally belong in the same description, but when bamboo is woven it feels like silk or cashmere. Its softness and strength are making it a popular textile.

Bamboo fiber is so much more than merely lush and soft, though. It wicks away moisture and is breathable like no other fabric you've sweated in. It's antimicrobial. It's hypoallergenic. It's biodegradable. It provides protection from UV rays. Beyond its wearable properties, bamboo is sustainable—it grows fast, can be harvested annually without destroying land, and can suck up excess nutrients from wastewater (like from manufacturing, sewerage, etc.) that would otherwise just be a nuisance.

Bamboo can take in up to five times the amount of greenhouse gases that trees do, and it replenishes more oxygen than trees. Somehow it also manages to do it faster. Bamboo might just be Super Plant.

And without a signal in the sky, how might you go about finding clothing made from Super Plant? Get online. Bamboo boutiques are everywhere. They vary in what kinds of clothing you can buy, from more business-like to casual.

In your search for good green clothing, bamboo should definitely be on your list. 

Karissa J. Kilgore loves to write and has a passion for the Oxford comma. She has her BA in English, and hopes to teach writing one day. Karissa lives in Pennsylvania with her dog Trixie.