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Whether you sew, knit, crochet, or simply like to buy clothing for your children that incorporates organic or other eco-friendly fabrics and yarns, there are a number of options available to you these days.

The Old Standby’s

Maybe you didn’t realize that the 100% wool sweaters your child wears are an earth-friendly fashion statement.

When wool is not blended with petroleum-based synthetic fibers and animal friendly processes are used, it is a warm, durable fiber that is great for outdoor and winter activities. Mohair, cashmere, and alpaca, are just some of the other soft, natural animal fibers that share wool’s durability, classic appeal, and its ability to biodegrade, though they are not always practical for small children. Be sure to look for organic and animal-friendly fibers and/or look for styles of clothing that can be handed down to children of friends and family for years. These days, it is also possible to buy yarn made from recycled wool fibers, that has been broken down and respun.

In the September 2008 issue of Threads, author Sharon Blair discusses these eco-textiles and demystifies what makes a fiber green:

• Chemical Free: This means no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, genetic engineering, or toxic chemicals were used to process and dye the fibers.
• Closed-loop processing: Solvents needed to break woody fibers into weavable filaments are reused and kept out of the environment, saving energy and water.
• Biodegradable: These fabrics break down since they are natural fibers and contain little or no petroleum by-products
• Regenerated or Renewable Content: Some fabrics use recycled plastic bottles. Others use recycled cotton or polyester.
• Animal Friendly: For wool, this means sheep cannot be overgrazed, dipped in insecticides, exposed to pesticides and hormones, or scalped on the hindquarters to prevent blowflies.
• Humane Practices: This refers to fair labor practices, and often the material is manufactured close to consumers to reduce transportation and fossil-fuel pollution.

Hemp, which has traditionally been used in more industrial ways, is now available in clothing-friendly weaves and blends that are durable and can be grown without chemicals. A heavy fabric, hemp is best used for pants or special occasion clothing items where you want stability. If your child has sensitive skin, line the fabric so that it is soft on their skin.

Cotton, if organic, is a wonderfully soft, sturdy natural fiber that feels good to the skin and can be used a hundred different ways. When grown conventionally, cotton is the most toxic and resource-intensive fiber on earth. Organically-grown cotton, though, avoids the use herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers to ensure that ground water is safe, animals and insects that live near cotton fields are protected, and that the clothing you wear is free of additives that can be harmful to your health.

The New Eco-textiles

A number of new textiles have emerged in the last few years that use more eco-friendly materials or processes than have been available before. Some of these textiles are even made from things that most of us have only thought about in terms of food or by-products, such as soy, milk, corn, seaweed, bamboo, and even wood pulp.

Soy fabric uses the leftovers from making soybean oil. While that doesn’t sound very appealing, it is in fact spun into a super-soft silk-like knit fiber that makes great children’s clothing, t-shirts, and other knit clothing that will last for years to come. Bamboo, while less strong than soy, is equally as soft and better for the environment – it does not need fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides to grow, it grows really quickly, and, so far, bamboo has not been genetically modified like soy has. To get the most out of bamboo fiber, look for fabric or yarn that was processed without chemicals or, as is the case with the bamboo fiber used in the Bamboosa baby products, for example, is certified chemical free by Oeko-Tex or some other reputable organization.

Lyocell, or Tencel, is made by pulping wood and letting it dry into fine threads. Chemicals are used to pulp the wood, but they are recovered and reused in the process. This is a very drapey fabric, similar to rayon, that is great for older girls’ dresses and skirts.

So silk may not be a new eco-textiles – in fact it is one of the oldest, but the animal-friendly way that it can be processed these days is now in style. Silk can be processed in different ways. Traditionally, silk processing involves boiling silk cocoons – or some other means of killing the silkworm pupa inside – and then removing the silk strands in a continuous thread. A more humane way of silk processing, though, allows the pupa to follow its normal life cycle, maturing and then emerging as moth in its own time. The silk cocoon is then unraveled and spun into a yarn that can be woven into fabric. While it is more “raw” in appearance, it is very strong. Look for peace or wild silk when shopping for silk fabric or yarn to make luxuriously soft, warm, and beautiful children’s clothing.

More Eco-textile and Sewing Green Resources:

• Blair, Sharon K. SEW GREEN: Learn to name and tame the chic, new eco fabrics. Threads, September 2008, #138.
• Bass, Trystan. Sew green, save green, look fab. Yahoo! Green, July 25, 2008. As seen at: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/194/sew-green-save-green-look-fab.html
• SewGreen, http://www.sew-green.org/
• EcoTextileNews, The magazine for sustainable textiles and clothing. http://www.ecotextile.com