Sarah B <p>When we started asking questions about the apparel industry, we learned some surprising facts.</p> <ul> <li>More insecticides are used on cotton than any other crop in the world.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Conventional cotton runs a close second to corn for total amount of pesticides sprayed as well as federal farm subsidies received in the US.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>One shirt requires nearly 3 ounces of chemicals to grow the cotton needed to produce the garment.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Hazardous current practices include use of dioxin-producing chlorine compounds, synthetic chemicals, and heavy metals which are either carried around for the life of the clothing &#8211; slowly off-gasing onto the wearer, or released into treatment plants, sewers and rivers, leading to one half of the world’s wastewater problems.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>The <span class="caps">EPA</span> classifies many textile manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste generators.</li> </ul> <p><strong>We knew there had to be another way:</strong></p> <p>By using plant materials for color, organic cotton for fiber, and a blend of traditional and contemporary production methods, we are able to create clothing that is healthier for you, your children, and our planet.</p> <p>By beginning to ask the right questions, we realized we wanted both our clothing and our world to be beautiful, comfortable, sustainable, and safe for all generations. Through our clothing we seek to encourage our customers to connect with our earth and help create a transformation to a healthy, sustainable world.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>More information on the benefits of Natural Clothing</strong></p> <p><br /> <br /> <A HREF="#organic">Why Organic Apparel?</A><br /> <A HREF="#naturally">Why Naturally-dyed Apparel?</A><br /> <A HREF="#social">Why a socially responsible business model?</A><br /> <br /></p> <H2><A NAME="organic">Why Organic Apparel?</A></H2> <p>Conventional cotton cultivation accounts for 25% of insecticides used globally &#8211; totaling nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides each year. It is estimated that 17 tablespoons of chemicals are used to make one shirt. This has a massive impact on the air, land, water, and on the people working on and living near the fields &#8212; but the damage doesn’t end there. Chemicals typically remain in the fabric of the finished good and are released during the lifetime of the garment. Organic cotton is free from all chemical treatments, including defoliants and other agro-chemicals typically used in cotton cultivation.</p> <H2><A NAME="naturally">Why Naturally-dyed Apparel?</A></H2> <p>To produce a full rainbow of color using no toxic or poisonous chemicals! Currently one-third of output of the chemical industry is being used to feed the textile industry. There are varying levels of health risks in synthetic dyes; for example, Azo dyes commonly used to dye fibers are a class of synthetic dyes which can be broken down into harmful carcinogenic substances called aryl amines. Before it is sewed by a garment worker, a tee-shirt can be bleached using dioxin-producing chlorine compounds, dyed with synthetic chemicals, treated with formaldehyde and fixed with heavy metals. Some of these chemicals are carried around for the life of the shirt, slowly off-gassing, while the rest of the chemicals are released into our treatment plants, sewers and rivers. The textile industry is linked to about one half of the world’s waste water problems. Although much of the fabric leaves a factory destined for our bodies, beds or bags, the clippings from fabric mills are often so loaded with dangerous chemicals that they must be handled as toxic waste. With such a beautiful spectrum of colors available from nature, we believe it is fair to ask why we clothe ourselves in a weave of harmful substances for the sake of fashion and precedent.</p> <H2><A NAME="social">Why a socially responsible business model?</A></H2> <p>Our socially responsible business model supports the evolution away from labor injustices apparent in sweatshops and industries reliant on hazardous synthetic chemicals and pesticides. As consumers, we have the power to stand up against the tragic realities of business that place profit over people, by taking our monetary support and focusing it towards enterprises working toward socially responsible and sustainable business models. With every dollar we can support viable small farms, artisan enterprises, environmentally friendly product development, safe healthy working conditions for people throughout the world, and a just and secure future for our children.</p> <p>At <span class="caps">ASK</span> Apparel, in an attempt to further this dialogue and trends toward sustainability, we donate at least 10% of our profits to our community and to groups working toward a fair, ecologically sound future. However, we believe beyond donating money to charitable organizations, it is most important that as a business we can work to support and create the change we wish to see in the world through our actions and through our own business consumption.</p> <p><a href="/pages/what-else-is-different">What else is different?</a></p> 2006-10-12T17:10:17-05:00 why 13350 2006-10-12T17:10:17-05:00 10301 2010-02-02T13:00:15-06:00 When we started asking questions about the apparel industry, we learned some surprising facts. * More insecticides are used on cotton than any other crop in the world. * Conventional cotton runs a close second to corn for total amount of pesticides sprayed as well as federal farm subsidies received in the US. * One shirt requires nearly 3 ounces of chemicals to grow the cotton needed to produce the garment. * Hazardous current practices include use of dioxin-producing chlorine compounds, synthetic chemicals, and heavy metals which are either carried around for the life of the clothing - slowly off-gasing onto the wearer, or released into treatment plants, sewers and rivers, leading to one half of the world’s wastewater problems. * The EPA classifies many textile manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste generators. *We knew there had to be another way:* By using plant materials for color, organic cotton for fiber, and a blend of traditional and contemporary production methods, we are able to create clothing that is healthier for you, your children, and our planet. By beginning to ask the right questions, we realized we wanted both our clothing and our world to be beautiful, comfortable, sustainable, and safe for all generations. Through our clothing we seek to encourage our customers to connect with our earth and help create a transformation to a healthy, sustainable world. _____________________________________________________________________________ *More information on the benefits of Natural Clothing* <br /> <A HREF="#organic">Why Organic Apparel?</A> <A HREF="#naturally">Why Naturally-dyed Apparel?</A> <A HREF="#social">Why a socially responsible business model?</A> <br /> <H2><A NAME="organic">Why Organic Apparel?</A></H2> Conventional cotton cultivation accounts for 25% of insecticides used globally - totaling nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides each year. It is estimated that 17 tablespoons of chemicals are used to make one shirt. This has a massive impact on the air, land, water, and on the people working on and living near the fields -- but the damage doesn’t end there. Chemicals typically remain in the fabric of the finished good and are released during the lifetime of the garment. Organic cotton is free from all chemical treatments, including defoliants and other agro-chemicals typically used in cotton cultivation. <H2><A NAME="naturally">Why Naturally-dyed Apparel?</A></H2> To produce a full rainbow of color using no toxic or poisonous chemicals! Currently one-third of output of the chemical industry is being used to feed the textile industry. There are varying levels of health risks in synthetic dyes; for example, Azo dyes commonly used to dye fibers are a class of synthetic dyes which can be broken down into harmful carcinogenic substances called aryl amines. Before it is sewed by a garment worker, a tee-shirt can be bleached using dioxin-producing chlorine compounds, dyed with synthetic chemicals, treated with formaldehyde and fixed with heavy metals. Some of these chemicals are carried around for the life of the shirt, slowly off-gassing, while the rest of the chemicals are released into our treatment plants, sewers and rivers. The textile industry is linked to about one half of the world’s waste water problems. Although much of the fabric leaves a factory destined for our bodies, beds or bags, the clippings from fabric mills are often so loaded with dangerous chemicals that they must be handled as toxic waste. With such a beautiful spectrum of colors available from nature, we believe it is fair to ask why we clothe ourselves in a weave of harmful substances for the sake of fashion and precedent. <H2><A NAME="social">Why a socially responsible business model?</A></H2> Our socially responsible business model supports the evolution away from labor injustices apparent in sweatshops and industries reliant on hazardous synthetic chemicals and pesticides. As consumers, we have the power to stand up against the tragic realities of business that place profit over people, by taking our monetary support and focusing it towards enterprises working toward socially responsible and sustainable business models. With every dollar we can support viable small farms, artisan enterprises, environmentally friendly product development, safe healthy working conditions for people throughout the world, and a just and secure future for our children. At ASK Apparel, in an attempt to further this dialogue and trends toward sustainability, we donate at least 10% of our profits to our community and to groups working toward a fair, ecologically sound future. However, we believe beyond donating money to charitable organizations, it is most important that as a business we can work to support and create the change we wish to see in the world through our actions and through our own business consumption. "What else is different?":/pages/what-else-is-different