Our committment to organically grown cotton

 

Many ethical fashion companies source their garments from Fair Trade partners yet continue to use non-organic cotton in their fabrics. For Ethos, this was not an option. Modern conventional cotton production is one of the world’s most toxic agricultural systems, polluting land and water systems while destroying the health and economy of farming families. Our refusal to accept this inconsistency led to our firm commitment to using only certified organically grown cotton in our Fair Trade garments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synthetic fabrics made from petrochemicals are notoriously harsh environmental polluters yet conventionally grown cotton is not much better. Modern non-organic cotton cultivation is one of the most polluting forms of agriculture. It not only endangers the lives of local inhabitants, but also typically exploits marginalized farmers and the workforce involved in its cultivation and processing.

 

One of the tragedies of the cotton industry in India is the crop’s allure for impoverished farmers who abandon food crops for the more profitable earning power of cotton. As a monoculture, cotton is a fragile crop and vulnerable to various diseases and insects. To protect their crops, farmers are obliged to buy harsh agricultural chemicals such as insecticides that pollute the local environment and endanger the lives of its inhabitants. Many of the chemicals used on Indian cotton crops are banned in the United States. They are expensive, too, and can ultimately leave the farmer indebted with a farm of poisoned soil.

 

Cotton crops represent 24% of the world’s cultivated land but account for 24% of worldwide pesticide use (WHO statistics). Many of the agricultural chemicals used in cotton are classified as dangerous substances and prohibited by the World Health Organization. According to WHO, one million people are poisoned and 22,000 others die each year from the cultivation of this crop.

 

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We make it our priority at Paris Ethos to raise awareness of the negative health and environmental impacts of conventional and genetically engineered cotton. It is our belief that organic cotton is the only viable solution to changing the garment industry and the lives of people in developing countries for the better.

 

The manufacture of a single T-shirt requires one pound of cotton fiber. Yet for every pound of cotton cultivated and harvested using conventional methods, an enormous toll is taken on the air, water and soil, not to mention the health of the people living and working in cotton country. In the face of such compelling evidence, Paris Ethos refuses to support the use of toxic fibers produced without regard for environmental and human rights.

 

Organic cotton is a genuine alternative to conventional cotton since it requires no pesticides, chemical fertilizers, toxic dyes or other chemical treatments. Ethos also refuses to source its cotton from genetically modified crops. The small farmers that supply cotton to our main producer in India, the Chetna Organic Farmers Association, use a system of biodiversity that involves the rotation of cotton with food crops to avoid the pitfalls of monoculture farming. Manure and compost are used for fertilizers while traditional extracts from plant sources such as the neem tree are employed to combat pests and diseases. 

 

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Ethos Paris has taken its commitment to green fashion to a new level with the delightful Botanic Impressions collection. All garments of this collection are colored with herbal dyes that involve completely natural color preparation and fixing agents. The process of herbal dyeing starts with the gray cloth passing through several stages of treatment before it becomes colorful and ready to wear. At every step of the treatment only natural processes are used. Even waste water is recycled after the dyeing process.

 

 

• Organic/herbal fabrics are soft to the touch.

• Organic cotton/herbal fabrics are more durable than conventional cotton fabrics.

• The use of various herbs and natural ingredients gives the fabric a pleasant, natural smell.

• Colors and shades are more earthy and natural in tone, unlike pantones.

• The palette of colors derived from nature is therapeutic for eye, mind and body.

• The colors are unique and cannot be duplicated with chemical dyes.

• Organic and herbal dyed garments are more absorbent and pleasing against the skin.

• The products used are biodegradable and waste is recycled into organic compost.