H and M and the Organic Cotton Exchange

Hey everyone!

This weekend I spent a day at H & M in Northern Virginia to learn about their new organic-cotton line. H & M, a hugely popular clothing chain throughout the world, has taken on the challenge of converting their stores into eco-friendly establishments. Now in every store there is a special organic cotton section where everything from full, bouncy dresses to soft causal shirts are made from chemical-free cotton. The new line has taken off! H & M sales associate Anthony Wilcox says "the line is selling really good" and that "the cotton is extremely soft, so people will buy multiples of the same shirt."

I personally purchased one of the casual organic-cotton tee's, and now I want to go back for more! The shirt is extremely comfortable and very trendy, and it makes me feel good when I wear it because i know I am helping the cause. Take a look at at the picture to the right to see me in my new enviormentally friendly T-shirt.

According to a press release on H & M's website, www.hm.com, the company decided to "go green" in 2004. The press release states that the company wanted to focus on their environmentally concerned customers, but wanted to also ensure the same high-style in the line. The organic cotton line is available for men, women, and children and has a wide selection of looks to choose from. look below for some pictures. Generally the costs of the organic cotton line are similar to the rest of the store ranging from $14.99 to $40 max.

In order to help promote the organic-cotton line, H & M partnered up with the Organic Cotton Exchange to help spread the word about eco-friendly clothing . Since they have done so, the company has increased the amount of organic cotton they use from 30 tons in 2006 to 1,100 tons in 2007! The press release states that H & M wants to "increase the demand of organically grown cotton to help the environment", and already they have increased their consumption by 1,070 tons in only one year.

Once I began digging for information about H & M, I had to learn more about the Organic Cotton Exchange; after all they are working together. The company is an organization with a mission to "catalyze market forces to deliver sustained environmental, economic and social benefits through expansion of organic fiber agriculture," according to their website. In other words, they want to get the ball rolling on organic cottons to help the enviorment and the overall health of people living in the farmring areas.

Currently, the majority of cotton the public wears is not organically grown. Organic cotton makes up for less than 15 percent of the grown cotton in the entire world, according to The Organic Cotton Exchange.This company wants to change that and promote the clothing industry to utilize more environmentally safe cotton. Their goal is to "increase the amount of certified organic land farmed for fiber production by 50 percent per year." If they do so, this will have a huge impact on our world. According to their website, The Organic Cotton Exchange plans on doing this by working with brands and retailers, like H and M, to promote the use of organic-cotton. They are also trying to help existing organic farms stay in business as well as build new ones.

To pound in our heads how important organic-cotton is, the Organic Cotton Exhange says that one single non-organic cotton T-shirt is made with the use of about 1/3 of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers. Now think about how many T-shirts there are in this world. Each time those chemicals and pesticides are used to make our clothing, they are absorbed into the soil hurting our planet and the health of the local people who live around the farms. The Organic Cotton Exchange says going organic is "beneficial to the enviorment; beneicial to the farmers; their families and their communities and gives added value for retailers."

After my visit with H & M, and my deeper look in to The Organic Cotton Exchange, I ran into even more stores providing eco-friendly products. Next week I will bring you information on Nike's new organic product line and venture into the land of "green" furniture. I know, I know... furniture is far off from make-up and fashion, but I couldn't help myself.

Talk to you soon!
Lauren