Sustainable Tips Blog
A wonder of nature and one of the most diversely used materials in the apparel industry for the time of humanity. Rows of puffs of cotton are both alluring and strange looking. Cotton is a material that has gotten many of us through life. From the first swaddles and baby garments - to bedsheets and undergarments. Tees that we wear like little billboards to tell everyone what we’re into - and Workwear and Denim for durability and strength. Cotton balls to soothe our faces or cover our wounds and filling for puffy blankets to comfort us.
While our associations may be comforting and warm - the trade of cotton holds some of the darkest stories. In the history of The United States and many other countries cotton picking involved slave labor. Learn more about this incredibly useful crop and how Fibershed is assisting farmers to transition their fields to Climate Beneficial Verified... and how you can support it!
I have a passion for Natural Dyeing. It’s such a beautiful practice - both asetethically and holistically. The compounds in leaves, seeds, bark, flowers, insects and other natural dye creating materials are full of anti-oxidents and anti-microbrobial materials. When it comes to food waste - including Avocado pits and skins and pomegranate skins - sometimes the parts of the food we throw away include even more of these healthy compounds than the part we eat!
So I was SUPER excited with Califia Farms reached out and asked me to lead a coffee dye activity for baristas and coffee fans during LA Coffee Fest.
Chances are if you've stopped into our shop before and mentioned this lifecycle (it currently lives printed on a curtain towards the back of the shop) you've heard all of the information below. But for all of you who don't get the pleasure of stopping in I've written it all out below for you. I hope it gives you an idea of what goes into making your clothes and inspires your future buying choices!
- Erin Han
