Buying organic cotton kids' clothing is a great choice for many reasons. First, you're keeping your children away from a lot of chemicals that are used to produce conventional clothing. You're also promoting safe production practices that are better for the health of the planet, which will keep it healthy for your kids.
About Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is a particularly good choice for people who are interested in sustainability and buying products that are made with the planet in mind. Conventional cotton production is one of the most pesticide intensive procedures out there.
Many producers who grow organic cotton use what's known as the BASIC approach (Biological Agriculture Systems in Cotton), which helps conventional farmers transition to organic agriculture.
The basics of organic production of cotton include:
- Soil: The health of the soil is the most important thing when it comes to successfully producing organic cotton. If the soil is not healthy, it's more likely there will be pests and diseases that can spread easily and destroy the crop.
- Weed control: Hand- or machine-removal of weeds, as well as removal with flames, are used instead of chemical herbicides.
- Pest control: Beneficial insects introduced to the fields at the right time can help eradicate pests without the use of insecticides. In addition, other natural methods of pest control are used.
- Harvest: A combination of machine picking and picking by hand is used in organic fields, depending on how the cotton needs to be picked in that area and whether the whole plants are killed in the process.
Finding Organic Cotton Kids' Clothing
More and more manufacturers are beginning to see that organic cotton clothing is a popular choice for consumers and provides a more sustainable alternative to the production methods currently in use. It is thus becoming a lot easier to find organic cotton kids' clothing, even at such huge retailers as Wal-Mart.If you're more interested in supporting smaller producers of organic products, there are many other options available. Here are just a few websites to check out for organic cotton clothing for children:
- Sckoon's collection of organic cotton clothing is adorable. Mostly geared toward babies, they sell kimono-style onesies, pants, tank tops and more.
- Garden Kids produces organic children's clothing that is also produced using fair trade practices, so you know that the people who worked to produce your clothing were treated fairly throughout the process.
- Earth Wear makes organic cotton clothing for people of all ages and has been in business sine 1993, proving that the organic trend is not a new thing.
- Sage Creek Naturals has a great collection of organic cotton kids' clothing, including classic looks, kimono-inspired clothes and cute loungewear.
Why Go Organic?
Many people decide to eat more organic foods, or at least become more mindful of what they are eating in general, when they have children. Producing the next generation makes a lot of people more mindful of what they are leaving behind for those children to deal with.
While some easily make the switch to more organic foods, they might not think about the fact that organics can also include the clothes they wear and even the furniture they buy.
Buying organic products is a little step that can make a big difference. When it comes to children's clothing, choosing products that have been produced without chemicals (and often dyed with natural dyes) is easier on your child's developing lungs. Buying organic also shows your children that taking care of the planet is important, which is a wonderful trait to pass on.
Organic children's clothing can be quite expensive when compared to conventionally produced clothing, and it might not seem worth it for clothing the kids are going to wear for a relatively short time. But every action we can make to help the planet is worthwhile, and if you are financially able to buy organic, it's a great idea to do so as much as possible.
