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Eco Friendly Thread?

John Simonetta — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:58:21 +0000

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Ok, so bamboo shirts, e.c.o fleece jackets made from recycled water bottles, soy flax polos and organic cotton t-shirts. We all have seen the great environmentally sustainable and sustaining apparel products that are now available to help promote your business. If you are an Ecopreneurist running a green business then eco-friendly apparel for your promotional items and uniforms is pretty much a given.

Last year the race was on to figure out the best, safest and most sustainable printing methods for t-shirts and caps. Is it water based inks or veg/soy based dyes, or another option? That debate is still out there.

Well Docufinish is one of the companies in the middle of figuring out how to make the “greenest” production shirts possible and today they sent our office a box of samples of shirts they ran for us with water based ink for the City of Plano which included the letter on the right.

What caught my eye in the letter however is the statement in the second paragraph, “Please also keep in mind that we just recently got the ability to produce green embroidered apparel with 100% Organic Rayon thread made from tree pulp.”

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On the Mend (Part 3)

Kelly Rand — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:30:55 +0000

Continuing on our tour of how to mend your clothes (which is both good of your wallet and for the environment) this week I am covering how to fix an under wire bra.

For all the ladies out there, I’m sure you’ve had this problem. You find a bra that fits so perfectly and is so comfortable, that you wear it until one day the wire starts poking out. Well don’t fret because a simple stitch will have you back in your favorite underthing lickity split.

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On the Mend (Part 2)

Kelly Rand — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:30:37 +0000

Continuing our short series on how to extend the life of your clothes. Here is a quick tutorial on reattaching a button. You can read about how to fix a hole in a side seem in Part 1.

Knowing how to reattached a button is a great skill to learn, especially because a loose button is not only inevitable, but you can find great deals at stores. I once scored a particularly lovely wool coat when it was on the sale rack, missing several of its buttons. The extra ones were still attached along the tag and by pointing out the missing buttons at the register, I was able to get another 10% off the already discounted coat, all the while thinking that the buttons were such an easy and quick fix! So onto the how-to:

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On the Mend (Part 1)

Kelly Rand — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:30:25 +0000

On a recent visit with my parents, I noticed a small tear along the side seam of my father’s shirt. He mumbled something about how that was the end of that shirt, and my mother was quick to agree. After I picked my jaw off the floor at this ludicrous statement, I pointed out to my mother that she owned a sewing machine and I knew for a fact that she could sew! There was no need to get rid of the shirt when a simple and quick fix could make it good as new.

In these increasingly harder economic times, knowing some basic sewing techniques can help fix common rips and tears that will help extend your wardrobe. So over the next couple of weeks I will be highlighting some simple ways to fix up and mend your clothes. These fixes are worth more than the pennies spent on materials and are not only good for your wallet but good for the environment to boot.

To fix the aforementioned tear in the seam of a shirt you’ll need a needle of appropriate weight. One that is sturdy enough to go through the fabric easily, but thin enough that you won’t struggle. You will also need thread in a coordinating color.

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