Our Men's and Women's T-shirts are from Continental Clothing USA's Earth Positive^TM range.  Their production of these beautiful, soft, organic-cotton T-shirts has been independently audited and shown to reduce CO₂ emissions by 95% over standard T-shirt manufacturing processes!  How do they do it?  By using solar and wind power to completely power the manufacturing process!  Read more about Continental's Earth Positive range here. 

Our Jumbo Tote Bags and Children's T-shirts, although not climate-neutral, are 100% certified organic-cotton.  Read below to find out why that's so important.  When available, we'll switch our Children's T-shirts to the Earth Positive^TM range as well.  We're lobbying Continental to make it sooner rather than later!

WHY ORGANIC?

What's wrong with good old, conventionally grown cotton?  It can actually be quite nasty stuff:

• Millions of pounds of pesticides are sprayed over cotton fields in the USA each year.
• Many of these pesticides were developed as toxic nerve agents during WWII and have been linked to numerous forms of cancer.
• Although effective at killing crop pests, the majority of the pesticides used are absorbed into the surrounding environment, making their way into groundwater, soils, the food web (plants and animals) and often back to us.
• Conventional cotton farming also uses an abundance of herbicides, fungicides and defoliants, and during processing, cotton is exposed to chlorine bleach and dyes containing heavy metals and formaldehyde - all of which can end up next to your skin.
• Approximately 75% of conventionally grown cotton is now genetically modified.

So LET'S GO ORGANIC!

• Grown with natural fertilizers.
• Free from toxic chemicals.
• Farmers rely on crop rotation to replenish and maintain soil fertility.
• Pests and weeds are controlled by cultivation and botanical or biological means.
• Organic certification only comes after a field is pesticide-free for at least three years.
• Cotton must be processed according to international organic standards.
• In order to avoid cross-contamination, standards also set strict guidelines for transportation and storage.
• In the USA, cotton labeled as organic has to be certified by an independent agency recognized by the USDA's National Organic Program.
• Lower carbon footprint, as the entire process consumes less fuel and energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases.
• Not from genetically modified cottonseed.
• Eco-friendly processing that does not compromise workers' health and helps reduce water and electric use and toxic runoff - e.g., non-chlorine bleach, silicon-free softeners and low-impact dyes.
• Strict testing ensures the absence of contaminants like nickel, lead, formaldehyde, amines, pesticides and heavy metals.
• People with allergies and chemical sensitivity especially benefit from organic-cotton clothing.