What Makes an Organic TShirt?

Jun 14
08:10

2011

Bob B. Hamilton

Bob B. Hamilton

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Organic TShirts are becoming increasingly common nowadays since everyone is worried about protecting the environment. If you have never heard of them, then you may be wondering what they are. Well, wonder no more since this article will tell you everything you need to know about them.

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Organic TShirts are becoming increasingly common nowadays since everyone is worried about protecting the environment.  If you have never heard of them,What Makes an Organic TShirt? Articles then you may be wondering what they are.  Well, wonder no more since this article will tell you everything you need to know about them.

In order to be called organic, the T-shirts have to be manufactured in a way which causes no harm to the environment.  The materials used in making the clothing item must be natural, not synthetic.  Also, the company that manufactures the item cannot harm the environment during the process.

Cotton is typically used to make organic TShirts.  When growing the cotton, the company cannot use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.  These chemicals can harm small wildlife and even workers that come into contact with them. 

The chemicals also cause damage to the soil and may keep it from being suitable for future use.  Cotton needs plenty of nutrients to grow however.  Therefore, animal manure or compost will need to be used in order to provide the cotton plants with the nutrients that they need to grow.

Most t-shirts are colored too.  In order to be labeled organic, the T-shirts cannot be created using harmful inks and dyes.  These inks and dyes typically contain heavy metals which can be harmful to the environment when they are disposed of.

These inks and dyes typically have to be mixed with water.  The runoff can subsequently get into the ground water supply.  Obviously, this is harmful to the environment and would mean the resulting T-shirt was not in fact organically made.

There are various materials that can be used to make an organic t-shirt.  By far the most common is cotton.  As mentioned earlier, the cotton cannot be grown using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. 

Organic clothing such as t-shirts can also be made from the natural pulp of bamboo.  These t-shirts are very soft and excellent to wear during the summer because of their wicking properties.  Another choice is plastic from reprocessed plastic bottles, known as reprocessed fleece.  T-shirts made from reprocessed fleece are very lightweight and warm.

Now you know exactly what an organic tshirt is.  The clothing item cannot be colored using harmful dyes or inks.  Also, the plants grown to make the t-shirt cannot be grown using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides since they are both harmful to the soil and any wildlife that comes into contact with the harmful chemicals.