Thea and Sami is based in Brisbane, Australia, creating fashions and accessories out of natural materials and earth-friendly inks. They have begun adding some certified organic fabrics to their collection, including this handprinted “Iron Flowers” design in turquoise on white or grey on black on organic linen. The fabric is 142 cm wide (56″) and costs $A38.50 per metre.
Once again, I must give credit to the wonderful Kim of fabric blog True Up for introducing me to an eco-friendlier fabric. The Andover Vegetable Dyes collection of cottons isn’t made from organic cotton, but it addresses the other side of the green fabric equation: the materials used in dyeing.
Leslie here at Crafting A Green World has talked to us about non-toxic dyeing using natural materials. This collection is a larger scale equivalent of Leslie using her landlady’s plums to cook up some pretty fabric.
The collection is carried by Z&S Fabrics and Strawberry Patches, and the latter of which has some background information about the collection that is not found on Andover’s website.
The fashion industry has only recently become somewhat linked with eco-friendly values. Yet even with the advent of popular hemp clothing and the use of natural fibers, most eco-friendly fashion accessories are considered to be ‘hippie fashion’. Hardly products that could be associated with the 7th Avenue fashion scene!
Natasha Kimling Kwan, the owner Kling handbags has decided to change things around. An emerging designer of vegan fashion handbags, Kwan produces uber stylish clutches that are the perfect compliment to [...]
In Part 1 of How Safe and Green Are Your Crafting Supplies?, I went on a quest to find out about the safety of my test case crafting product, fusible web. (As you’ll recall, it’s a synthetic product that’s like a cross between fabric and glue, and it works as an adhesive when you iron it.)
Though I was not 100% reassured by what I found, there are at least some safety regulations in place for arts and craft supplies, and fusible web does meet those standards. So let’s move on to my next challenge: assess the environmental impact.
The environmental impact of many products is pretty evident. Oil is a non-renewable resource and it creates toxins when you burn it, so I think it’s a no-brainer to bubble in “No” on the sustainability question in the answer booklet. Bottled water exchanges an efficient public delivery system for an inefficient private one and creates a massive pile of barely recyclable containers.
Fusible web, though, isn’t as immediately apparent to me. Obviously, any product that is manufactured (unless it’s Cradle to Cradle certified, Autumn reminded me) uses up resources and thus isn’t as environmentally benign as going without or re-using something that was already made. But beyond the issues posed by using any manufactured product, is there anything else going on with fusible web that is praiseworthy or less so?
In Autumn’s post The Eco-Crafters List of Demands, she asked crafters for their thoughts on how to make commerically sold craft supplies more friendly to the planet and the people who live on it. One question she asked particularly stood out to me:
What items have such scary warning labels that you are asking yourself, “Is this project worth giving myself brain damage over?”
One of the products that immediately came to my mind was fusible web. Fusible web is a synthetic fiber that melts when you heat it. Brand names for these products include Steam-A-Seam, Stitch Witchery, and others. If you’re not familiar with it, think of it as thin sheets of fabric infused with glue. If you need two pieces of fabric to stick together, or you’re working with a fabric that needs a little extra support to either stand up or hold still, then you may end up using your iron to attach some fusible web to your project. You’ll often find fusible web in applique, t-shirt quilts, and used as interfacing in clothing.
But honestly, I’ve never tried to research it and figure out whether it’s a product I can feel good about using. Can it hurt me by touching it? Is it safe to heat glue with an iron and breathe at the same time? I have educated myself about food, personal care products, and clothing, and made (not enough) changes in my life based on what I found. So far, though, I haven’t given my crafting products much scrutiny beyond my varied attempts to use my local thrift store as a craft supply shop.
So just how easy is it to find out whether a product is safe and eco-friendly? Using fusible web as my test case, I set out to get some answers. Some of what I found may be old hat to y’all, but I learned quite a lot. In today’s post, I cover safety issues ; watch for Part 2 about environmental issues next week.
Over the months I've been slowly eliminating all sorts of unnatural and synthetic chemicals from my diet and my life. Processed foods and and unsustainable clothing have been thrown by the wayside. So why am I still smearing pesticides all over my body?
Mother Earth News has a fantastic article on Why You Don't Need Antibacterial Soap. While a simple google search will turn up dozens of articles and debates about
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Hinkley residents protest new sludge facility (source: HelpHinkley.org)The small California Desert community of Hinkley, made famous by true story portrayed in the movie Erin Brockovich
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I live in a college town, and as such, have to deal with a massive amount of pollution from students more interested making it home in a drunken stupor than what to properly do with that bottle of J.D. in their hands. Alas, it's me, a garbage bag, and the occasional cleanup to avoid becoming awash in crap.
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