Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you know about “going green”. There is a huge movement across this country to change and improve the way we are treating and using our environment. Folks are waking up to the fact that our natural resources are not inexhaustible. Take a walk down the aisles of your local grocery store; you’ll find that there are more and more products available that are “organic”. From potato chips to cereal, consumers can purchase products that are organic–basically meaning that the food crops from which they are derived have not been treated with any chemicals, and have most likely been harvested locally.

Amazingly, the clothing industry is also getting into the mix. Consumers are not only demanding organically-grown foods, they want their clothes and other household goods like towels and sheets to be “organic” as well. There are several companies who sell organic t-shirts. But why should you buy these shirts, as opposed to the traditional t-shirts we are all accustomed to purchasing?

There are several reasons why choosing organic t-shirts is a good idea. First of all, it’s good for the planet. Literally, the earth – the ground you walk on – is improved and protected through the cultivation of organically grown cotton. Traditional cotton farming is the one of the most destructive farming practices there is. Cotton farming uses some of the largest amounts of pesticides of any crop–it’s in second place, in fact–and also uses large amounts of both herbicides and insecticides, many of which are known to be cancer-causing. Cotton crops that are grown organically, however, are farmed using sustainable farming practices and help save the earth. For every 100% cotton organic
t-shirt that is produced, 1/3 lb of pesticides and chemicals stay out of the environment. Taking care of the environment by buying and wearing organic t-shirts is an excellent reason to make the switch to organic clothing.

Another reason to buy and wear organic t-shirts is that, in most cases, the manufacture of these clothing items support fair trade. Most of the clothes we wear today are made in sweat shop conditions in poor, third-world countries. These workers are not paid decent wages, and must work long hours in factories that have no labor, environmental, of safety laws. Buying an organic t-shirt, or 3 or 10, helps provide these workers with a decent income, as well as employment and basic services, like healthcare and education.

Comfort is definitely something we look for when choosing clothes to wear. Organic
t-shirts, which are made of 100% organic, natural cotton, are extremely soft and pleasing to the touch. These shirts are typically non-dyed, and come in the natural color of the cotton itself. While you may not want to wear the same color t-shirt every day of the week, adding even one or two of these t-shirts to your wardrobe is one way you can “go green”. If you’re looking for some color in your organic t-shirts, you may decide to choose one that is made from other organically grown crops that may have natural colors besides the pale cream color of a natural cotton shirt. Some companies not only make t-shirts from organically grown cotton; they use other types of materials as well. For example, hemp, tencel, flax, recycled cotton and soda bottles, spandex blends and organic wool (meaning that the sheep and goats are eating grass that has not been treated by any chemicals) are all different materials that are being used to make organic tees.

As you can see, there are many reasons to pick up an organic t-shirt or two over the traditional variety when it’s time to update your wardrobe. Choose an organic t-shirt, and you will not only be helping your fellow man, but the earth itself.