1 Kaight organic cotton Willy tee | on sale for $48
2 Alternative Apparel organic muslin crepe t-shirt | on sale for $55
3 STUDY NY twist dress | $110
4 Raw Earth Wild Sky organic cotton tank dress | $124
It’s not easy to find organic cotton clothing that doesn’t look like you shopped for your clothes where you buy your organic apples (that is, if you shop for groceries at Whole Foods). Not that that’s a bad thing, necessarily, but it has a certain look, shall we say; more utilitarian, bordering on hippie, than modern & stylish, in most cases.
You have to dig DEEP to find the really good stuff, and I have gone down the rabbit hole that is the internet to find it. Back in 2008 when I started my eco-fashion blog, Green Grechen (sadly, it was hacked and I had to remove it), there were quite a few interesting designers and boutiques selling eco-friendly & organic clothing. Now, many have shut down. I still have some of my organic cotton camis from Park Vogel that I LIVE in and a Perfectly Imperfect organic cotton tube top that I wore just the other day, but otherwise, stalwarts such as Stewart + Brown have closed (they say not for good) and few other eco-fashion companies are popping up to take their place.
The items I featured above are from some of my favorite eco-fashion designers right now (actually all but STUDY have been around a while); I would totally wear any of them (they’re all now officially on my “wish list”). And as I replace garments in my wardrobe, I’m going to do my best to seek out organic cotton (or other sustainable fabrics) alternatives first – especially for basics (undergarments are a great way to start). There’s no reason no to, honestly. There are excellent options out there, in modern silhouettes, and at reasonable prices. Of course, organic cotton is more expensive (usually 30% more), but for me, it’s a worthwhile investment, I think, especially since I prefer natural fabrics, and a lot of my wardrobe is cotton.
(have a look at these “shocking” facts about cotton, including “Cotton takes up 4% of the world’s agricultural land, but is responsible for 25% of pesticide use”)
Have you seen The True Cost yet? If so, you probably recall the parts with LaRhea Pepper, an organic cotton farmer in Texas who lost her husband at the age of 50 to cancer (more than likely as a result of pesticides and pollution surrounding non-organic cotton farming in the area). She explains why organic farming/cotton is so important better than I can:
The difference in conventional chemically intensive agriculture and organic is literally life and death.
Organic promotes life and creates solutions. Organic agriculture promotes life in the soil, increased bio-diversity, increased food-security, ability to mitigate impacts of climate change with stronger carbon sequestration, the reduced use of irrigation where that applies, and the elimination of toxic and persistent pesticides from the water we drink and the air we breathe. It is also life for communities, catalyzing job creation with the increased crop selections as a result of the shift from a mono-crop culture and the employment of more people to care for the crop during the growing season.
Some of my favorite organic cotton resources right now:
Alternative Apparel
Groceries (LOVE EVERYTHING)
Kaight (in-house brand for organic cotton basics, but not boring + other designers)
Nordstrom (mostly Eileen Fisher in here, but a few other designers as well)
Kowtow (New Zealand designer, available at Beklina)
Study NY (I’m kind of obsessed right now…)
Only Hearts organic robes, underwear & bras (one of my favorite lingerie brands)
NAU (like this dress)
Zady organic cotton t-shirt
Toad & Co has some simple organic cotton pieces – I have this shirred skirt for lounging at home
Hanky Panky’s cotton with a conscience collection uses organic cotton
Etsy is a treasure trove of good organic cotton clothing…
Athleta has some good organic cotton activewear options
This is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but I have to save something else for another post, don’t I? Do you have any organic cotton resources to share?
More:
[show_boutique_widget id=”263570″]
Do you seek out organic cotton clothing? Have you found any pieces that you like?
*shakes fist in the air* Damn you Grechen! I’ve been coveting that REWS tank dress for some time now & just about had myself convinced to not get it. But then it shows up on your post today. Now I gotta start the talking myself off the ledge process all over again. Or not.
thanks for this post! Saving to browse the shops later…
I have that REWS tank dress in solid black and LOVE it. I’m 9 months pregnant and it’s adorable…stretches perfectly over the belly but shrinks right back down in the wash. It’s incredibly flattering and comfy. Love love love. REWS makes some cool pieces. There is a boutique in town that carries all organic/ethical lines and another I love is The Podolls…
**edited by Grechen – just adding a link to The Podolls 🙂
oops 🙂 sorry, not sorry. i LOVE that dress so much. it’s very raquel allegra without the price tag…and better because it’s organic cotton. why would you NOT get it??
(kidding – mostly, i get it!!)
oh, how perfect! how long is it though? like, on me, would it be maxi-length? or midi?
BTW, Angelina Rennell, who runs Beklina, lives in my little beach town in Northern California. She hand-delivered a package for me one time and I have an open invitation to come by to try on things whenever I’d like 😉 I keep meaning to go see her and work keeps interfering, but let me know if there’s anything that anyone would like a in-person reference for–it would give me an excuse to call her!
Plus I love all these picks! That striped version of the Twist dress would be a great organic sub for that similar JP dress! The Raw Earth tank dress print is fantastic but probably too close to the Emerson Fry caftan to justify it. Except I could wear it with a jacket for work…
um. i LOVE angelina!!! we haven’t interacted in quite some time, but i’m a huge fan. so glad that beklina is still around. she has amazing taste and i love her own line in addition to the designers she carries. you should try on all the kowtow please 🙂 i especially love the long sleeve dress and draped cardigan.
the REWS dress is more slim though, and probably a teeny bit more appropriate for work – it would look amazing with a blazer …
and yeah, that twist dress is so good, although i’m not 100% sold on the neckline…
I tried on that Eileen Fisher cotton bateau neck dress during the sale (when I was returning some stuff I bought online that didn’t fit) and loved it! But it fits almost exactly like an older JJill linen dress I have, and since I still wear the JJill dress, I didn’t buy. But so cute!!
(I don’t think I updated – as I head out to my high school reunion today – I ended up deciding to keep the black Eileen Fisher drape neck/short sleeve dress to wear to my reunion – I looked at the dresses I’ve bought and worn to past reunions and I never wore them again, or rarely. So I decided this time I’d get something perhaps a little more “boring” but infinitely more wearable. And for Friday (our reunion is the entire weekend) I’m wearing black skinny eileen Fisher pants, black tank, and long black & white striped cardigan.)
Also–this jumpsuit!!!
https://studyny.squarespace.com/clothing/tanksuit
i KNOW!!! and this shirt dress: https://studyny.squarespace.com/clothing/shirt22 – so many good things…
Maybe I can do some guest reviews 😉
absolutely!!!! so fun…
oh, kelly your outfits sound great! and wonderful idea to buy something you’ll wear again, boring or not 🙂
have fun this weekend!!
It almost has a Gypsy 5-esque to it. I had some bad luck with their stuff shrinking, not holding shape, etc and was concerned the REWS might be the same.
But dang, the REWS mirage dress and their fitted tunics just have my name written all over them!
Googles “Podolls” like a mad woman
The Podolls….I can’t even. Great…this is ALL I needed. Another rabbit hole to fall down into. 🙂
man, you’re taking me back…i had a gypsy05 dress way back when. don’t remember having any issues with it, but that was in 2008 or so? don’t have it anymore. i loved the material though.
I’m on an organic cotton kick at the moment so here are some of my my current go to’s (local for me = New Zealand)
http://www.chalkydigits.co.nz/
I have a number of their dresses – they’re gorgeous and really well made. My partner has a drawer packed full of their t-shirts cos they just don’t die!)
http://www.thunderpants.co.nz/
Most comfy underwear ever!
Yeah I took good care of the quasi-tied dyed maxi dress I had of theirs. Saw it on one of the girls from The Hills & went ga-ga over that dress. Only hand-washed it, laid it out to dry, but in a moment of stupidity – I tossed it in the dryer. Argh!
I loved that no one else in my immediate circle let alone anyone I saw when out & about had that dress – well aside from The Hills actress, but then again, I an’t say we ever crossed paths here in Bugtussle, South Carolina. So it killed me that I ruined that dress. Did the same thing to a Rachel Pally skirt too – in the same laundry load no less.
Not sure where to post this comment at, but here’s as good as any…I noticed on your Instagram a TBT pic of you circa 1970’s. Totally noticed the gold stretchy “snake’ belt right off the bat! LOL Man I hit fashion big leagues when I got one of those for Christmas one year only to find out the hard way that they were so “last year”, which meant I could never again wear it to school or risk further humiliation. But still, I wore the hell outta that belt everywhere else!
It would be maxi length on you. Also, I should add that I have put it in the drier by mistake, and not a problem…the organic cotton holds it’s shape, yet gives nicely.
If you’re open to french brands, I would suggest you have a look to Ekyog http://www.ekyog.com/
(I love the raw earth tank dress ! and I’ve been tempted by Alternative apparel for a while …)
absolutely! thanks for the link – i love this especially: http://eshop.ekyog.com/selection/pull-ganda.html – such a great pullover, and interesting…
Great, great post! I am really trying to be a conscious consumer and avoid fast fashion. Thanks for all the great links. Beth
I’ve been trying to buy exclusively organic cotton for about a year now, and several months ago I stumbled upon Synergy Organic. I’ve fallen in love with their t-shirts and dresses and have bought way too many, but they are all favorites now. You’re absolutely right that there’s no reason not to buy organic cotton now. There are so many fantastic designers on board!
I love this thread! It’s all of the stuff and the sites I love. I try to, or maybe I should say, I just gravitate to more organic, indie stores and sites ( My hubster would say because they’re more expensive, but not true! My taste just directs me there. 😉 )
Alabama Chanin has committed to designing with organic cotton that is grown, spun, dyed, and stitched in the US. I love her designs, and she sells books that tell you how to make her clothes! She experimented with growing her own organic cotton last year and documents it in her journal/blog.