Organic Clothes for Your Babies and You
January 13th, 2010
Our children are among the most precious things to us, and it makes sense for us to want to look after them. Yet is there really any benefit to be had from ensuring that their clothing is organically produced? Well, absolutely!
The Problems of Non-Organic Cotton
Your baby’s skin is the most sensitive it will ever be, so it makes sense not to bring it into contact with anything remotely harmful. You’ll probably have chosen cotton rather than man made fibres for precisely that reason. Even so, it’s hard to avoid all unhealthy substances with non-organically produced cotton, given that growing it uses somewhere in the region of 25% of the world’s pesticides, many of which are carcinogenic. Even processing it involves a number of chemical processes, and while most companies will take every care to ensure that nothing gets through to the end product, can you really be certain that it won’t, when allergies and related complaints have risen steadily in industrialized nations?
It’s Good for Your Baby, and the Environment
Using organic baby clothes clothes made from cotton that has never been subjected to pesticides or insecticides isn’t just good for his health but it is also better for the environment. These days, we’re all trying to reduce our carbon footprint, but what about damage to the environment done in other ways? Pollution to water sources and the destruction of biodiversity by industrial farming are both issues with potentially serious consequences. Choosing organic options for your baby’s clothes is a way to protect not just them, but also the world that they are going to grow up in.
It’s Good for Farm Workers
If you’re worried about the possible effects of the substances used in non-organic farming on your child, imagine how much worse any effects are for people who work with those substances every day. By purchasing baby clothes that are not produced with extensive use of chemicals, we can increase the chances of these workers being able to operate in an environment that won’t kill them later on.
It’s Not More Expensive
Inevitably, talk of organic products turns to how much more expensive they are, but that isn’t true of clothing to the same extent. Stuff for daily use such as baby hats and gloves are not significantly more expensive than non-organic ones, and might actually be cheaper in the long run, since organically produced cotton tends to be more robust and harder wearing. Not having to buy an extra set of clothes for your child can quickly repay your initial outlay.
So there you have it. Organic baby clothes are better for the environment, better for the people who produce them, and better for your wallet. Most importantly, they might well be better for your child, and that has to be the deciding factor.
