Efforts to help Haiti come together like Lego blocks
Area churches came together to build houses in Haiti that “go together like Lego blocks,” said Bob Dean. “You can build and turn a key on the houses for only $3,000,” said the longtime Walton County community volunteer. The $3,000 price tag…

Read more on The Walton Sun

Legislative leaders claim more than half of new borrowing for roads
A review of the road plan that lawmakers approved last week shows that districts represented by legislative leaders fared well. The bill included more than $400 million in borrowing, more than half of which is going to projects in 12 legislative leaders’ districts.

Read more on Lexington Herald-Leader

Bob Dean · borrowing · Churches · claim · Community Volunteer · Dean · Haiti · half · Houses · Lawmakers · leaders · Legislative · Legislative Leaders · Lego Blocks · Lexington Herald Leader · more · Price Tag · roads · than · Walton County · Walton Sun

Cheaper dream vacations
Dream of an exotic vacation but with a less exotic price tag? Here are some suggestions:

Read more on Chicago Tribune

Coming Home to Mother Nature
IT ALL began with a two-week road trip from Makati to Mindanao about a decade ago.

Read more on Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Going green is no longer a trendy fad but a needed action adopted by everyone from all walks of life and from all areas of industry. As more and more people the world over become eco-conscience a demand for eco-friendly goods are on the rise.

As we rush to calculate our carbon foot print we look at our homes and our cars for ways to become more environmentally aware. Hybrid cars, solar panels, and personal gardens are just some ways that are being adopted in an effort to be kind to Mother Earth. But what about making our clothes environmentally friendly? Many people just do not understand how synthetic our clothing is and how much resources it takes to outfit an entire family let alone the world. With this in mind, many high fashion retailers are beginning to offer “green” alternatives. The business community is following suit with many professionals switching to eco-friendly clothing as a way not to just make a positive impact on the environment but with their clients as well.

It takes a keen and savvy eye to find environmentally friendly clothing that lives up to the name. Ideally, eco-fashion as it is commonly referred to as is any clothing that takes into consideration the well being of the environment, the workers that created the clothing or product, and the impact that it has on the environment.

The key to finding environmentally friendly clothing is to read the labels. Most of us are unaccustomed to reading anything beyond the price tag. Most labels will tell you everything that you need to know about the piece of clothing you are going to buy.

Organic clothing is popular and is usually your best bet when shopping for that new suit. Anything that boosts the word organic must meet the USDA’s strict criteria and definition of the word. When you see on the label that those pair of slacks is made from “certified organic” it means that the fiber used was grown in an area that has been chemically free for at least three years. Without the use of pesticides and other chemicals so the negative impact of the fiber is very small.

Whether the article of clothing is organic or not is just one part of the process. One other aspect that many of us fail to take into consideration when shopping green are the dyes used in the clothing; believe it or not, but that purple tie is not made from naturally occurring purple material. Most of the dyes used in the clothing industry are toxic to humans, animals, and the environment as a whole. To date there are no uniformed guidelines dictating how much dye should be used in the manufacturing process and just because the labels says low impact dyes does not necessarily mean that its safe for the environment. Many professionals advise that consumers buy items that are naturally colored like wool but if this does not prove to be a suitable solution then strive to find clothing that use water or soy based dyes.

A popular material for eco friendly clothing is hemp. Growing hemp is illegal in certain countries like the United States and in certain parts of Australia, but there are plenty of manufacturers in other countries that are making really great styles with it including business wear for both men and women. Hemp is pretty resilient to pests and disease which decreases its need for pesticides and it is exceptionally durable. When shopping for something made from Hemp you will want to take special care to ensure that the clothing was made by companies that treat their employees with respect and pay wages that are fair. An easy way to find this out is by looking for the Fair Trade logo on the label. If, however, you can not find anything on the label that states if it is made using fair methods then information should be available online. Just because something is low impact on the environment does not meant that it is OK to use exploited workers.

Recycled material for clothing has been around for several years and is becoming all the more popular. With recycling many items find new lives and stay out of the landfills reducing the amount of waste.

Eco friendly fashion is becoming a big hit and for business men and women who work long and hard to shape the world, these clothes produce a sense of doing well. Not only great for your confidence but for the environment, eco fashion in the work place is a great way to help solve a problem that effects us all.

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One of the easiest ways to go-green is with your wardrobe. Everyone needs clothing so when you’re already out and about shopping; why not just choose the organic alternatives. Likewise, when it comes to dressing your employees’ eco-friendly apparel is the way to go. As businesses turn to all organic promotional apparel, the options of eco friendly clothing flourishes in retail stores everywhere. Now let’s take a look into the shift of gears in the promotional and retail worlds for environmentally friendly clothing.

Eco-Friendly Apparel is good for the environment.

California provides roughly 13% of the United States cotton each year and in a study done in 2005, over 5.8 million pounds of chemicals were used on the golden states farms. These chemicals pose a threat to major bodies of water and eco-systems when they are carried off by run-off rain water. At the same time the pesticides used to keep insects and animals away from the cotton crops are main factors in the greenhouse gas effect.  

Organic clothing doesn’t need chemicals to be made. In fact, buying four organic shirts saves about a pound of chemicals from entering the earth. That means if you chose to reward your 72 employees with stylish organic custom polos, you’d be saving the earth from almost 20 pounds of chemical abuse. All of this goes without saying that organic clothing also reduces waste because it breaks down naturally. For these reasons alone, it’s clear why retail stores are making eco-friendly apparel mainstream.

Eco-Friendly Apparel is cost effective.

Maeny people are deterred from organic clothing because of the daunting price tag. But just like with any shopping, you’ve got to scout out deals. Wal-Mart offers an eco-friendly t-shirt for only three bucks. Similarly, a culinary school could order new students custom non-woven aprons for as low as $1.95 each. Putting thrifty sales aside, organic clothing costs more for you because it costs more for the manufacturer. However, as eco-friendly clothing becomes more widely accepted, the market will grow and sales will improve as prices drop. Eventually, many people will adopt eco-friendly custom apparel as the norm for its long lasting abilities and environmentally sound production. 

Environmentally Friendly apparel is trendy.

As materialistic as it may be, customers care about the latest in trends. What are the Hollywood elites wearing? How can I get my hands on that hand bag? These are questions that are asked everyday, and now as celebrities boast about their awesome green clothing and accessories, eco-friendly apparel is becoming mainstream.

All of the sudden a silk kimono takes the back seat to a custom bamboo robe and a star chooses the H&M organic clothing line over the latest one of a kind bejeweled dress. Nike and Wal-Mart join H&M as some of the top 10 worldwide brands selling organic cotton lines. In the future, many more hot names in fashion will be turning to eco-friendly alternatives to show stopping looks. By the beginning of 2010 these going-green company’s expect 33% of their products to be made of eco-friendly organic cotton.

With trend setters turning to eco-friendly apparel, the price gap growing thinner and a constant drop of harmful chemicals entering the atmosphere, going-green with your wardrobe seems widely attractive. Models are strutting their stuff down the run way and giving eco-friendly a whole new make over while organic farmers work to harvest cotton in the most sustainable ways possible. Likewise, traveling business executives are looking their finest in organic custom polos and schools across the world are arming students with cool promotional eco-friendly tees. So join the revolution and make a statement today by greenifying your wardrobe.

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