Part of our ethical sourcing entails being informed about which fibers are used to make our beautiful products. This is why we would like to share with you some interesting facts about the natural materials our suppliers work with.
As a natural fiber, cotton is highly breathable, light, soft and comfortable to wear, it also degrades easily back into the environment.
Nevertheless, it's a highly controversial fiber due to several factors: the massive amounts of water and pesticides that are used in its production and that this waste often ends up in rivers and lakes, GMO seeds that force farmers into debt, and even allegations of child and forced labour.
But it's not all doom and gloom, there are some kinds of cotton that are more sustainable in their production methods, such as organic cotton. This kind of cotton is certified and regulated by entities such as Organic Content Standards (OCS) and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). This kind of cotton uses way less harmful chemicals for the environment and your skin, and its seeds are cheaper than those of GMO cotton.
As a customer, your actions can help counter the negative impact the fashion industry has over our environment and the lives of the people in the industry's supply chain. If you want to buy a cotton garment, checking for organic fiber certification is a good step, choosing undyed cotton pieces is also good. In our store, you'll find undyed and organic cotton socks by RoToTo and Mauna Kea, all made in Japan.
If you're looking for something a bit more luxurious, then you might be interested in American Sea Island and Egyptian Cotton clothes.
Sea Island Cotton: The finest and rarest cotton in the world, its ultra luxurious feel comes from its extra long fibers, longer than 34mm. Less than 0.0004% of the world's cotton is Sea Island, this fiber is usually used in bespoke shirts. Why not check out our Sea Island Cotton socks by hakne?
Egyptian Cotton: Like its American counterpart, this fiber is also a long staple one, yielding a yarn count of up to 200. Egyptian cotton has earned itself a reputation for being long lasting, and luxuriously soft. This kind of cotton comes from the Nile Delta in Egypt. You can get yourself a pair of Nishiguchi Kutsushita's Egyptian cotton socks from our store.
If you want to learn more about cotton, we recommend Good On You's article https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-cotton/