Manufacturers scramble for eco-friendly fabric options

Tag : Tencel Fabric

The T-shirt has become a must-have for summer wardrobes.
But not just any old tee.
This summer's hottest top is cozy, made of organic cotton and toutsworthy causes across the chest.

From Target to Macy's, retailers at every price point are reservinga place on their sales floors for T-shirts made ofenvironment-friendly materials, emblazoned with friendly phrasessuch as "preserve Mother Earth" or "Do good."
Whether you're a tot or a teen, a male or a female, theeco-friendly tee is the must-have shirt of the moment.
According to a recent MSNBC report, an estimated 2 billion tees were sold worldwide last year. This year's numbers are expected totop that.
The preference of some U.S. consumers for greener products has manufacturers scrambling for eco-friendly fabric options. Choices include hemp, bamboo, tencel, soy fabric, modal and organic cotton.
While wearing a T-shirt is an obvious way to tout your favoritecause, purchasing a shirt made from eco-conscious production methods has a greater impact than you might think.
Most T-shirts are made of conventional cotton, which is one of themost pesticide-laden crops in America. According to the SustainableCotton Project, it takes a third of a pound of toxic chemicals toproduce one shirt. That adds up when you think of all thoseT-shirts sold.
However, when you buy organic cotton, you're buying a product thatwas farmed using alternatives to pesticides, herbicides andsynthetic fertilizers.