Organic cotton growing is much more complex, not to mention more costly, than regular cotton growing. Cotton consumes 3% of the world's farmlands, while using 11% of the world's pesticides and 25% of the world's insecticides to control pests in regular cotton farming. There are over 20,000 deaths every year from pesticide poisoning and majority of these deaths are cotton farmers. That's why it's even more important to buy organic fabrics!! When organic cotton is grown, the farmer must make sure the soil fertility practices meet organic certification; the weed management is accomplished through cultivation, flame weeding or other cultural practices; and insects are controlled only through the organic certified methods.
Pests are a huge problem in cotton growth, which is the reason why so many insecticides and pesticides are used. Organic farmers have to check their crops weekly to make sure there are no infestations. If there is a pest problem, the farmers use biological pesticides- derived of natural materials from animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. There are also insecticidal soaps, which are used directly on the crop to kill soft bodied insects. There are several other practices used for individual pests. But all of these methods are non-toxic, biodegradable and certified organic.
After the organic cotton has been harvested, the cotton has to go through a certified organic manufacturing process. The manufacturers cannot use chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, halogens, azo-dyestuffs, plus the machines have to meet ISO standards. I wasn't able to find lots of info on the manufacturing process... I'll keep looking and post at a later date if I find anything new.
Bamboo:
Here is how bamboo is manufactured in some plants:
1) Bamboo leaves and the soft, inner pith from the hard bamboo trunk are extracted using a steaming process and then mechanically crushed
2) The crushed bamboo is soaked in sodium hydroxide to produce cellulose. A common misconception is that sodium hydroxide is a harmful chemical. If used in a responsible manner sodium hydroxide has absolutely no effect on the environment and health of workers. It is routinely used in the processing of organic cotton into fiber and is approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) and the Soil Association. Sodium hydroxide does not remain as a residue on clothing as it easily washes away and can be neutralized to harmless and non-toxic sodium sulfate salt. A chemical used in this step that can cause nervous system damage with chronic exposure is carbon disulfide.
3) The bamboo cellulose is forced through spinneret nozzles (like a sieve) into an acid bath that hardens the solution into bamboo fiber threads and neutralizes the caustic sodium hydroxide.
4) The fiber threads are spun into bamboo yarn and rolled onto spools.
Yes, there are chemicals used to make bamboo fibers. There are no chemicals used in growing bamboo. The chemicals used in manufacturing the fabric can burn your skin if you touch them... but when you get the final product, all of the chemicals have been stripped so no toxic stuff will be touching your skin. Sodium hydroxide is used in washing and peeling fruits and veggies and also in chocolate pressing, soft drink processing, thickening ice cream and more. (Are you going to stop eating chocolate and ice cream? Didn't think so)
So how is using chemicals Eco-friendly? Some bamboo manufacturers recycle their chemicals. They make sure they use and dispose of them properly so it doesn't effect the environment or any humans. I heard of another practice where they use micro-organisms to clean the waste water in production, so the water and garments come out clean. After the fiber is processed it is certified to the OEKO Tex 100 standard for residual chemicals.
Makeup:
There have been tons of makeup tests done lately and a lot have come back containing lead. Especially in lipsticks. Yes, this is a replay of many years ago and now the scare has come back. This month the FDA finally started testing lipsticks (since environmentalists have been on them for a while) and found high levels of lead in all 20 lipsticks they tested. Yet, they did not release the names of the brands and still have not developed a standard for lead in lipstick. You can read more on Safe Cosmetics.
Another scary fact is that the FDA allows mercury compounds to be in certain makeup as long as it doesn't exceed 65 ppm! Though, the FDA doesn't completely regulate the makeup industry and allows them a self policing policy. Unlike drug companies, makeup companies do not have to test their products before releasing them. Since the ingredients aren't regulated, harmful chemicals and toxins are more than likely to end up in your makeup. When I say harmful, I'm talking about chemicals which are known to cause cancer, infertility, and even birth defects.
First of all, you don't want nasty chemicals absorbing into your skin just for beauty. Especially when most women put on makeup several times a day. Secondly, how many times have your children played in your makeup? I remember waking up one morning to Ella playing in my makeup with stuff all over her face. Luckily, it was organic and she didn't have a reaction. She has my sensitive skin and almost anything makes her break out. Another thing to worry about is your unborn baby. A study was done on umbilical cords to detect how many chemicals were being absorbed and over 287 potentially toxic chemicals were found! The study didn't document all the products the mother's used, but everything that we are exposed to adds up.
I'm not saying that putting on non-organic makeup is going to give you cancer. But I want you to see that many small doses of toxic chemicals can lead to major health problems. You just need to assess everything that you use to limit how many chemicals you put into your body. And makeup is one of the easiest products to switch!
Plastics:
BPA: A chemical building block used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Studies have linked BPA to hormone disruption, increased breast and prostate cancer cell growth, and early onset puberty, and obesity.PVC: A strong plastic polymer that can be made flexible through the use of plasticizers. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC life cycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats. When produced, burned, or heated PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.
Phthalates: A group of chemicals used as plasticisers in PVC plastics that are known to be testicular toxins and can disrupt hormones, damage the kidneys, liver and cause asthma.
For a quick guide to know what to stay away from when buying any plastic product, use the recycle code on the bottom of the product. There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging. Type 7 is the "other" class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters "PC" near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from BPA.
Type 3 (PVC) can also contain bisphenol A as antioxidant in plasticizers.
Types 1 (PET), 2 (HDPE), 4 (LDPE), 5 (polypropylene), and 6 (polystyrene) do not use bisphenol A during polymerization or package forming and can all be recycled.
Since BPA, PVC and Phthalates can leach toxins, it's especially important to pay attention to toys that will go into children's mouths and bath toys. When these toxic plastics are put in higher temperatures the chance they will leach out is much higher. In December of 2008, a report was done by a non-profit group, NPR, which showed that infant books and bath toys scored poorly when testing for lead, arsenic, and other chemicals. They also found that 1/3 of the toys tested contained harmful chemicals! If you want to see if your child's toy has been tested, you can visit http://www.healthytoys.org
