When it comes to promotional clothing, cost is always a key factor for both the wholesaler and the customer. But as awareness of global warming and ethical issues grows, the social and environmental cost of the garments we produce is also starting to be addressed. As Fashion Designer Katherine Hamnett puts it: “There is no such thing as cheap clothes: the true price is paid in human and environmental degradation at the bottom of the supply chain.”

This month, I’ve been exploring the environmental impact of different types of fibres that can be used to produce clothing, comparing conventional cotton farming with organic and looking at the new types of eco-fabrics emerging on the market.

So what exactly does ‘Environmental Impact’ mean? Everything we use or do has an impact on the environment. In terms of fibre production, some of the key environmental concerns are: energy and water consumption; pesticides and fertilisers – chemicals that are extremely harmful and cause long-term damage to both eco-systems and the health of farmers; and the social impact of farming – making sure the producers have good working conditions and receive a fair price for their crop.

Many people would rightly assume that synthetic fibres are un-sustainable, as they are predominately made from oil, use energy-intensive processes and aren’t biodegradable. Nylon, for example, produces nitrous oxide during manufacture, which is several hundred times worse for global warming than CO2. However, cotton is often considered to be a ‘natural’ product, but the environmental and social impact of conventional cotton production can be both unethical and damaging to the environment.

Conventional cotton production

Conventional cotton farming requires a huge amount of water, which can have devastating effects if it is not irrigated effectively and if there is a limited water supply available. According to a recent World Health Organisation report, 22.5% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of all pesticides are being used to farm cotton on only 2.5% of the world’s agricultural land. These chemicals can filter into the water system and damage ecosystems, wildlife and precious natural resources. They are responsible for large-scale poisoning in producing countries, with a reported 20,000 fatalities from accidental pesticide poisoning and 1,000,000 longterm acute pesticide poisonings occurring per year.

Advantages of organic cotton

Organic cotton is grown without any synthetic fertilisers, removing the negative environmental impact caused by these chemicals. Although organic cotton production still needs a lot of water, organic projects use carefully managed irrigation systems that enable the sustainable use of renewable water resources.

Global sales of organic cotton tripled from 2002 to 2004, with the UK market growing by 50% per year since 2004 (Pesticide Action Network). Promotional Companies SAF and Epona have been successfully producing high-quality organic tops for several years, and Continental, Mantis and Okarma, among others have recently brought out organic Tshirts, demonstrating the increasing popularity of organic cotton products.

There are also different types of cotton fibre available that will hopefully be utilised more in the future. Natural coloured cotton, produced by Naturetex, is said to have the lowest ecological footprint of any type of cotton. It is produced organically, grows without water and comes in a variety of natural colours such as avocado and mauve, removing the need for any additional dyes.

Fairtrade cotton

Alongside the environmental imprint, there is also the social aspect of the agricultural process. Fairtrade cotton guarantees small-scale cotton producers a fair and stable price that is not affected by volatile market fluctuations. They also receive an additional premium that can be invested in social or environmental projects, such as improving farms and developing sustainable, ecologically sound methods of production. Fairtrade often works in conjunction with organic cotton production.

The farms that produce Epona’s cotton in the Andhra Pradesh region of India have recently been certified both Fairtrade and organic ‘in-conversion’. By helping to convert these farms, Epona is helping to significantly improve the quality of life for 500 producers and their families.

Buying organic and Fairtrade cotton has many advantages, but there is also a demand for new types of eco-friendly textiles. There is a whole range of innovative, sustainable and renewable fabrics currently on the market – some more weird and wacky than others!

Bast Fibres: Bamboo and Hemp

Bamboo

Championed by Continental Clothing, bamboo is seen by many as one of the most exciting innovations in eco textiles. Continental recently launched its Bamboo Men’s and Women’s T-Shirts which demonstrate bamboo’s soft, silk-like quality. It is an antibacterial fabric, which stays around two degrees cooler in hot weather.

Bamboo is very eco-friendly as it grows naturally and sustainably, thriving without pesticides or fertilizers. The fastest growing plant in the world, it spreads rapidly across large areas and is known to improve soil quality in degraded and eroded areas of land. On top of this, bamboo is also biodegradable; meaning it won’t clog up landfills once the garment has reached the end of its lifecycle.

Hemp

Hemp is considered by some to be a genuine alternative to non-organic cotton. It is an efficient, economical and low input crop that only uses a few chemicals and is easy to grow organically. The fabrics produced are renowned for their durability and ability to breathe and although hemp fibres are naturally rough, new processes have been developed to create a soft but strong fabric. Hemp is considered to be stronger than cotton, more resistant to abrasion, mildew, soiling, shrinkage and fading in the sun.

In recent years, Hemp has become popular with designers including Georgio Armarni, but is now reaching into the promotional industry.

Fashion Company THTC has introduced a sister brand, Eco-T Merchandise, which includes men’s and women’s T-shirts, vests, sweats, hoodies, belts, caps and beanies all made from Hemp, mainly for the music industry.

New technologies

There are several other natural fibres that can be used to produce T-shirts.

Modal and Tencel are both made using wood pulp from sustainable forests. They require less pesticides and water than conventional cotton production (non-organic) and are also 100% biodegradable. Modal is a great eco alternative to viscose.

Ingeo is manufactured by NatureWorks LLC from sugars from corn. According to the manufacturers, it combines the performance of a synthetic fibre with the advantages of a natural material. Fabrics can be made up with deep colours without using large amounts of dye, due to the low refractive index of the fibre.

And it’s not just T-Shirts that can be made using eco-fabrics. There are several other fibres available that are used to produce other promotional merchandise.

Recycled plastic promotional fleeces

EcoSpun have developed a polyester fibre using recycled plastic bottles.Wellman Inc (founder of EcoSpun) claims it is able to keep almost 3 billion plastic PET bottles out of the world's landfills each year, saving over 1/2 million barrels of oil and eliminating 400,000 tons of harmful air emissions, which contribute to acid rain, global warming and smog. The amount of petroleum saved by using postconsumer bottles instead of virgin materials in the manufacturing process annually is enough to supply power to a city the size of Manchester for an entire year. The fleece garments are said to be “chemically and functionally nearly identical to non-recycled fleeces without depleting the Earth's natural resources or extensive energy use”.

Jute promotional bags

There has been huge coverage of Anya Hindmarch’s ‘I’m not a plastic bag’ in the press, which was highly sought after and sold out in a number of hours, despite subsequent negative comments surrounding it’s ‘ethical’ credentials.

However, it’s not only designers that are getting involved with reusable shopping and promotional bags. Canby produces a number of eco bags for promotions that can be printed up with your individual logos, made from jute. Jute is a bast fibre, like hemp and bamboo, and is grown naturally, without any pesticides. Canby states that the bags are carbon neutral, ethically procured and calls them: “Bags for a Better World.”

The ever-increasing customer demand for environmentally friendly products is being met by companies who are choosing to use eco-friendly fibres to produce their promotional T-shirts.

As ethical issues continue to dominate public attention, it will be interesting to see how these technologies develop and in what ways the promotional industry will start to utilise these new fabrics.

Juliet Bacon is marketing manager at Epona Clothing, which makes promotional clothing from Fairtrade certified cotton.

Go to www.eponasport.com for more information

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