http://www.care2.com/greenliving/sensuous-sensible-sustainable-sheets.html
Sensuous, Sensible, Sustainable Sheets
By Melissa Breyer, Producer, Care2 Green Living.
I’ll take cotton sheets over their synthetic sisters in a heartbeat—but the thought of all those pesticides used on cotton crops has been elbowing me in the psyche lately. Looking for organic cotton bedding, I found these instead and couldn’t believe my skin when I first slipped into a set of such soothing, eco-friendly sheets. So soft, so supple, so sustainable.
Who would have thought that bamboo—yes, bamboo!—could be spun into such a miracle fiber. The resulting textile is durable and strong, and its resilience allows for superb color retention through multiple washings. It has excellent wicking properties and dries faster than cotton, which results in decreased odor accumulation. It is even hypoallergenic and antibacterial. Performance aside, it is the feel of the textile that leaves me swooning—sleek and silky beyond compare. This is how I imagine one million thread count cotton sheets might feel, but with a better conscience.
According to the Organic Consumers Association, cotton is the most toxic crop on the planet. (If you are utterly devoted to your non-organic cotton sheets, you may want to skip this paragraph!) Cotton crops account for more than 25 percent of all the insecticides and 12 percent of all the pesticides used in the world. And these aren’t in the “gentle” category of toxins—we’re talking some of the worst of the worst. As found in an EPA report, in California (one of the only states to require pesticide-use reports) 12 of the top 15 pesticides used for cotton caused birth defects, 10 caused multiple birth defects, and 13 were toxic or very toxic to fish or birds or both. Yikes. If that isn’t bad enough, cotton crops generally use up to seven times more fertilizer than they do pesticides. Cotton fertilizers are best known for spoiling the air and polluting rivers, groundwater basins, and aquifers everywhere the crop is grown. Bamboo, on the other hand, is rapidly renewable and flourishes naturally without the use of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers.
Enough said, right? So let’s just cut to the chase here, and sleep a little easier:
100% Bamboo Sheets
Bamboo/Cotton Blend Sheets
More on Bed & Bath (14 articles available)More from Melissa Breyer (194 articles available)
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22 comments
add your comment »If you've been around cotton fields you would know this in order to remove the cotton from the plant it is sprayed with a defoliant...anybody old enough to remember Viet Nam? And that's just one of the poisons ut on the cotton.
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http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html
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Bamboo the plant is wonderfully sustainable; bamboo the fabric isn’t so easy to categorize. There are two ways to process bamboo to make the plant into a fabric: mechanically or chemically. For more info check out this website http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html It tells how it can be done mechanically which would is the best way but a lot more expensive and then the chemical way which pumps it full of toxins which makes it no better than the cotton full of toxic chemicals.
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I'll embellish on Danielle F's comment...
Another thing to consider when purchasing your sustainable products is that cheaper may not necessarily mean better. Someone may not be receiving fair wage to make those sustainable products you are purchasing so cheaply.
Research the labor resources of the places you are purchasing from. Sustainable living can also mean supporting the businesses that pay their workers wages that afford them the cost of living - or to "sustain" their families.
Just another concept to keep in mind! Thanks for caring everyone!
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i like cotton this is better to warm up your mind your body and maintain the blood currculation is very good.in running during marathon i weare cotton custom.this is very comfort during running 21k. i like very well.
thanks
sanjay saklani
91-9810691820
i use cotton sheet also when give massage to peoples. this is so impresive.
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in comparing two of the companies listed above i noticed viva terra being absurdly expensive whereas target offers sheet sets for under 60 bucks. now, mind you, viva terra has some VERY nice items, like silky night gowns that look lovely. but still: the prices of some organic manufacturers is really off-putting some times. and it can't always be put down to small production/lower purchasing power. right?
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Hi Pam,
Denim can be both good and bad, just like cotton. There are many parameters to look into, renewable rate, recycable, resource, renewable at all. The biggest inpact you can do as a final user is wash less in low tempratures, dry natrually, use good washing powder and no softner. Use the garments for long time.
Bad cotton: See this movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCZ9yV9l50k
Levis are doing "good" denim: read more at:
http://www.levistrauss.com/News/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?pid=784
Do you want to read more?
From a UK perspective: http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustainability/projects/mass/UK_textiles.pdf
Brand new book:
http://www.amazon.com/Sustainable-Fashion-Textiles-Design-Journeys/dp/1844074811
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Where does Denim fit into the good/bad fabrics? I know it's cotton but is it "green" or full of pesticides in the growing process? I approve of Bamboo because it grows so fast it's considered a weed here. Maybe just needs some improvments in the methods used now.
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I am really sorry to say but there is nothing called Beech in the textile terms and definition. It is probarbly RAYON. Not allways very "green". I agree with Jenny P, Bamboo are not green at all.
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My choice is the pure beech sheets - I recycled all my others. They are a little pricier but well worth the money and soooo soft.
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