Choosing fabrics that make the least ecological impact can save valuable energy and keep dangerous chemicals out of the earth, air, and water. And how you clean them counts, too. (See Appliances and Electronics, and Dry Cleaning for laundry tips.)
Careful
Purchase well-made clothing and textiles that will last a long time. A wide selection of cheap, trendy items is available, but these will likely fall apart after a couple of seasons. Classics will outlive fads, and favoring them over disposable options helps to conserve resources.
More Careful
Try shopping at vintage and secondhand stores. Decorating with vintage linens, in particular, is a wonderful way to add character to your home. Give things that you no longer need to friends or charities. Reuse items that can't be passed along -- make T-shirts into rags or transform old sheets into children's costumes.
Most Careful
If you're concerned about the chemicals used to make fabrics, look for organic versions of natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, and wool (you'll find more on this below). Purchase items that are natural dyes and are open about how they make their clothing and linens.
Cotton
Eco Impact
Soft, absorbent, and comfortable, cotton is an affordable option for your favorite T-shirts, bedsheets, and bath towels. But despite its wholesome image, most cotton comes at a high cost to the environment. Conventional cotton occupies only 3 percent of the world's farmland but is sprayed with 25 percent of all insecticides, posing a particular threat to farm workers. Making fabric also involves using a great deal of chemicals, including carcinogenic dyes and textile finishing (such as wrinkle-free, flame-retardant, and stain-resistant treatments). Growing cotton, making fabric, and sewing clothes uses a lot of resources, and even the finished product is high-maintenance: A 2006 University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing study found that machine washing, drying, and ironing account for more than half of a cotton T-shirt's lifetime energy use.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق