Organic is the IN thing in fashion these days

But are they really? There are so many terms and so many things out there that say “organic”, and I don’t still know for sure what it totally means. So it was a treat for me, and quite a learning experience, to talk to someone who makes it her mission to be environmentally responsible in her life and at work.

  Jennifer Murphy is the proud owner of Chapter One Organics, a new fashion-forward clothing line for babies and toddlers. Jennifer studied design, art and business in college and wanted to work in fashion. Borne out of a medical experience dealing with harsh chemicals, she wanted to start a company that was totally organic. Her philosophy is to be organic from start to finish product, at every aspect of production and manufacturing of the clothing line for her baby and toddler clothes.

As Jennifer points out, “It is not just what you are putting on the baby’s skin. It is the earth, it is the workers in the factory who are inhaling the chemicals. You know when they are selling the garments some of the fibers kick up, it is the people who take the cotton from the field and the people who weave the cotton, to make it a knit or woven or whatever it is. So for me it was like, “Wow, we can really affect all of these people by choosing to use organic.”

Chapter One Organics uses what is called “premium certified organic cotton.” Jennifer explains that Chapter One Organic purchases the cotton from a company that has a certification, a standard called The Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS), where it holds people accountable the whole way through the processing. It is not just through the growing of the cotton but it is through the way that the cotton is processed. Did they use bleach on the cotton to whiten it or did they use peroxide? Premium certified organic cotton is safe all the way down to that.

Now that’s being totally loving the earth and its occupants! But there’s more.

Chapter One Organics is really a cut above the rest. Jennifer works with a US manufacturer who employ under served women, those who had a significant barrier to employment. Some of them are coming from a prison system. But the company trained them how to sew and get some career skills to move on with their life. Most of these women did not have a career path or had only worked in fast food restaurants and have no where to go. So Chapter One Organic has given them the opportunity to see what it is like to be a part of a different culture.

Bigger US clothing retailer, like Gap and Walmart, are now becoming environmentally friendly. The Gap now has organic baby clothes they offer online. I am even wearing a Walmart shirt that says “transition cotton.” So one would think that major companies would go the earth-friendly route because they can, so why aren’t we seeing the organic movement exploding into our clothing industry? Jennifer believes it has to do with cost. And yet, the more companies that start to do it and the more demand there is for organic cotton and bamboo and all these different alternative fabrics, probably the more they will do it. She would like to see the large companies jump on board because, admittedly, they can make the biggest impact.

If someone wanted to be more educated about organizations, I asked Jennifer where they would go for more information. She shared that there are a lot of organizations online that are really green organizations. She pointed out Co-op of America, which is a group that she belongs to. Co-op of America screen their businesses who sell products. Organic Trade Association is another good place to scout for information. They list all of the businesses that they support and are supporting them

Ms. Murphy’s advice to making certain that consumers are buying the right “organic” product? DO YOUR HOMEWORK. EDUCATE YOURSELF. SUPPORT THE BUSINESS.

“I think, as a consumer one of the ways to become more involved is to research maybe what you are buying a little bit more,” Jennifer points out. “See because when you go to Target something may be organic but do you really know the foot print, where it came from, that the worker was paid a fair wage.”

My conversation with Jennifer Murphy continued on about the baby clothes she sent me, and the book that she wrote about educating children on factory farming.

© Zorro12 – Fotolia.com; chapter one organics images

Post from: Blisstree

Organic living, all the way: Interview with Jennifer Murphy, Chapter One Organics