Are Organic Clothes Really Better for Your Babies and Children?
I recently saw a slogan which said, "What you put on you, also goes in you". So true! Our body is our largest organ, and as humans we are generally wearing clothes, so our skin is in constant contact with fabrics ranging from natural fibers to fibers entirely made in a laboratory. Fabrics when not organic are filled with chemicals and pesticides in quantities you can not even imagine. I will discuss that in a bit.
Another consideration is that babies and children are constantly growing and developing, changing. Their lungs are growing, sensitivities, and allergies are beginning to be established. An overtaxed little immune systems can lead to sensitivities that can last a life time.
So what is in clothing that may be truly harmful to your child? Let's consider cotton. It's natural you may say. But did you know that they use more chemicals and pesticides on cotton crops then any other crop on earth. Cotton crops use about 2.5% of the world's cultivated land, yet 16-25% of the world's insecticides are used to grow it!! These are chemicals that can not be entirely removed from cotton before making it into our children's clothing. These pesticides will be touching them on a daily basis, and the fumes emitted will slowly burn off, leaving them in the air your child will constantly breath in to their lungs.
We could also talk a little about synthetics which are usually made from petrochemicals, as in petroleum/oil. Fumes released from synthetic baby clothing like fleece will be released into the air for the life time of the garment.
If those simple facts about non organics aren't enough to convince you that organic clothing is the best option, think about this. All of those chemicals used to grow cotton leach into the ground, are swept into rainwater run off, into our rivers and streams. Another staggering statistic is that it take about 1 lb of these chemicals to grow just 3 lbs of cotton. So if you purchase just 1 organic t-shirt you could prevent about 5.5 ounces of chemicals from polluting our planet.....from just 1 t-shirt!
The cost of organic clothes is often what makes purchasing organic baby clothes prohibitive, but if you start where you can, do what you can, as with all things the prices will come down. Just remember how much can be saved with just the purchase of 1 t-shirt. Not only will your child be healthier, but our planet, their home for a lifetime will be healthier too.
