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Conscious Clothing
by: Alec Grimes
We don't exactly live like the Jetsons, but keeping up with the
complexity of life in 2007 sometimes makes my head spin faster than a
merry-go-round. Remember the good ole days... when life was simple,
when Saturday Morning cartoons were our reality. Remember the surprise
at the bottom of the cereal box, the sound of the ice cream truck, the
sweet taste of cherry red liquid dripping down smiling faces.
I remember when it was actually hot in summer and cold in winter, when
it was safe to play in the rain and to eat the snow. I remember when we
ate foods simple because they taste good and when we wore anything that
was the latest rage, all the while supporting third world nations
through sweat shop labor; but it didn't matter because there was always
tomorrow.
Who knew that tomorrow was being cut shorter every day, with every
polluted breath, every poly-saturated, artificially colored, hormone
injected, preservative laced taste, with every lead-based, genetically
altered fiber of our existence. Who knew even the clothes that we wore
were tainted?
Did you know that one basic cotton t-shirt requires the use of...
1/3 of a pound
of chemical pesticides.
1740 gallons of
water to grow (that's enough drinking water for 9 years!)
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Not only are we plundering the earth in the name of style, we are also
poisoning it. Let's not forget the women and children making
thousands of garments a day, but only earning pennies a day. And we
won't even begin to talk about the leather and fur industries.
Are you asking yourself...? So what am I supposed to do? Well you
start by becoming aware of the situation and decide to do nothing or
seek to change and evolve. I know... becoming aware and active in
change takes time. They just don't make stylish fake leather shoes for
men yet. Just take it
one step at a time!
Companies
like Swirlspace are seeking to help with the evolution to ethical and
eco-friendly apparel products. As a part of their mission they combine
meaningful art with environmentally-sound fabrics like Hemp to create
positive apparel at reasonable prices.
They sell
t-shirts, jeans, yoga pants, skirts, socks and more all made from hemp,
(which by the way is not a drug, it's a Plant!) Unlike the dime
a dozen t-shirt designs popping up everywhere I actually like their
t-shirt designs. I found the concept of the reusable "Eco-Femme" pads
to be a bit freaky but hey what do I know. I guess when nature
calls...call her back!
As a part of
the San Francisco Urban Alliance for Sustainability, Swirlspace is
clothing with a cause. You can check out the goods, find out more about
hemp clothing and Swirlspace by visiting,
www.swirlspace.com |
