The cultivation of organic cotton preserves the health of the soil, nature and people, as only natural products and sustainable methods are used instead of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. The use of toxic chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMO) is prohibited.
Organic Cotton is used in our Basic collection as well as for our dust bags, sewing threads and care, logo and size labels.
Image via aboutorganiccotton.org
What you need to know about Organic Cotton
- No genetically modified organisms (GMO) seeds used.
- Conserves Water and uses rainwater more efficiently.
- No pesticides and no use of toxic chemicals.
- Crop rotation, intercropping and composting build organic matter. Therefore, no fertilizers need to be used.
- Physical removal of weeds and natural defoliation.
- Smaller ecological footprint: Compared to conventional cotton, organic cotton uses less water and less energy.
- Better for the farmers: The farmers are not exposed to toxic chemicals and pesticides.
How do I care for organic cotton?
You may wash your The Slow Label Basics at 30ºC, but washing them cold and therefore preserving energy is a good option too! We'd like to share some general guidelines for washing garments with the least environmental impact. Following this procedure will preserve the quality of your garments as well as energy and water.
- Wash only when necessary
- Wash the same colors together
- Wash cold
- Wash inside out
- Use mild and organic detergents
- Avoid conventional fabric softeners
- Avoid tumble dryers
- Hang-dry immediately
- Iron inside out if necessary
- Treat stains immediately
Transparency
Which items contain organic cotton?
Our Fitted Tee, Oversized Boxy Tee and Inside-Out Sweatshirt are made of organic cotton.
We also use organic cotton for our logo, sizing and care labels, as well as for the dust bags, which come with our Cross-Body Raffia Bags, Wool Overcoats and knitwear pieces.
The thread that is being used to sew most of our garments consists of regular cotton. The only exception are garments from previous collections as well as our coats, which are sewn using TENCEL™ Lyocell thread.
Where does the organic cotton for these items come from?
Fitted Tee, Oversized Boxy Tee, Inside-Out Sweatshirt: The certified organic cotton for our jerseys comes is grown, harvested, processed and spun into yarn in India. It is then sent to our manufacturer in Lithuania, who knits it into our jersey fabric and manufactures our jersey products.
Logo, sizing and care labels: We order our labels from a German company. All labels consist of organic cotton. We do not know the full supply chain and are working on making this more transparent.
Dustbags coats and knitwear: Ironically, this is our most transparent item. We order our fabric from a certified sustainable German supplier. The certified organic cotton fiber comes from Kirgistan and Uganda and it is spun in Turkey and Germany. The fabric is then woven into a Cretonne fabric in the Czech Republic and sent to our manufacturer in Poland, where it is sewn into dust bags and screen printed using certified organic dye.
Dustbags raffia bags: We order our small dust bags from a German company. The bags are being produced in India and consist of 100% certified organic cotton. The printing process happens in Germany, using certified organic dye.
Thread: We tried (and failed) to source sustainable thread made of TENCEL™. This innovative product is mainly sold in big quantities, which small businesses like us can't afford. The thread that we were able to find didn't meet our quality standards and therefore, we have to use conventional cotton thread, which comes from the German company Kupfer. Our goal for 2021 is to switch to a more sustainable option!
