Since I dove headlong into producing organic fabrics for the quilting & sewing community, there hasn't been a day where I haven't read amazing stories of triumph about organic cotton agriculture or heard from customers and vendors alike how much they appreciate Daisy Janie's fabrics. These nuggets of positivity buoy me, not only as they underscore the choices I’ve made for production of my organic fabrics but also as they fuel my own passion and love for my fabrics.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, where we tend to pour our hearts out like lovestruck silly-billies, I would like to gush about some of the reasons why I love Daisy Janie’s organic fabrics.
| Daisy Janie's fabrics have a versatile weight & weave. | |
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Daisy Janie’s organic fabrics are printed on a 4 oz ‘balanced plain weave’ printcloth, using thicker yarns that are woven from long-staple, ring-spun cotton. The fabrics have a wonderful heft, while maintaining a soft hand, flowy drape and subtle luster. They're perfect for countless hobby & home sewing ideas and for bringing precious durability & longevity to one's sewing projects! |
| Daisy Janie fabrics meet the Gold Standard in eco-friendly fabric production. | |
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From planted seed to packaged bolt, Daisy Janie’s organic fabrics are 100% GOTS certified. The Global Organic Textile Standard is considered the highest level of certification in green textile production, with stringent, compulsory criteria for all phases of production. Achieving GOTS certification “ensures the organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling, in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.” There are other standards, but they are typically a stepping stone to GOTS and are not nearly as comprehensive. Although it's more expensive to follow the GOTS requirements all the way through the growth & production process, I opted for the complete package b/c it represents the same level of conscientious commitment I bring to all of my work. It just makes sense to me to go for the gold! |
| Daisy Janie's fabrics are socially responsible. | |
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Daisy Janie's organic fabrics are produced in a Fair Trade Certified facility. This means that employment is freely chosen, working conditions are safe & hygenic, child labor is not used, workers are paid a living wage, regular employment is provided and harsh, discriminatory & inhumane treatment is prohibited. This seems like it would be a given in today's society, but it is definitely not! Ethical treatment is not at the top of the priority list for Big Corporations, who seek to squeeze every penny of profit out of cotton production - at the cost of human lives and so much more. |
| So far, Daisy Janie's organic fabrics prevented approx. 4500 lbs. of synthetic toxic fertilizers from entering the cotton supply chain. | |
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It takes approximately 1/3 lb. of toxic synthetic fertilizers to produce 1 lb. of raw cotton fiber, and it takes about 1 lb. of raw cotton fiber to make 1 cotton t-shirt*. Thinking of 1 yard of cotton fabric (36" l by 45" w), I'm sure I could make one shirt out of that single yard. So, based upon how much fabric Daisy Janie has had printed to date, I have prevented 6900 lbs. of synthetic fertilizers from entering the cotton supply chain. And from entering the soil, the air (and blowing on the wind to the food acreage), the waterways, the farmer's lungs and skin - and so on. Taking this one step further: Consider ALL the other toxic chemicals that are used to produce conventional cotton ~ insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, formaldehyde, toxic waxes, chlorine bleach, petroleum-based inks with heavy metals and so on. The quantity of ALL these substances that have NOT become a part of the cotton supply chain as a direct result of Daisy Janie's use of organic cotton fiber & GOTS production methods multiplies astoundingly! My fabrics may be the proverbial drop in the bucket in the fabric industry, but these numbers stand as a testament to my doing my part as a good human and a conscientious business owner. And, yes ma'am, I love that about my fabrics! *Source: Organic Trade Association |
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As you can imagine, I take incredible pride in the contribution my fabrics are making in weaving ecologically responsible changes into the sewing & craft community. Communicating the joy I feel on a daily basis is easy. What's not so easy to talk about is the dark & very sad underbelly of conventionally grown cotton. Despite the beautiful designs printed upon them and the creative things being made with non-organic quilters' cotton, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. As I continue to find my voice on these topics, I will be sharing what I learn, read and see. The message of organic agriculture needs many voices and perspectives to articulate it, and it needs even more ears and eyes to take it in and make 'good human' decisions based upon it.
