USA: Greensource introduces certified organic jeans
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Suellen [2011-05-20]
Jeans certified to organic standards for both fiber production and dye processing are now available on a volume scale online and at Walmart ("Faded Glory") and Kmart ("Route 66") courtesy of Seattle, WA-based Greensource.
The company, one of the nation's largest suppliers of branded and private label organic cotton apparel, is launching three lines (men's, women's, and children's) of fashion-forward yet affordable organic cotton jeans, enabling consumers to buy products with a similar look to premium jeans, but with less impact both on the environment and the pocketbook. Greensource will be exhibiting at the MAGIC apparel show in Las Vegas, NV, February 17-19, 2009 (booth ST 23443).
The jeans are not only made with organically grown cotton but also processed according to the new Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) which prohibits the use of toxic dyes and finishing agents, including lead and phthalates. Test quantities of the products already sold successfully in the 4th quarter of 2008 at Macy's ("Greensource"), Kohl's ("ReGen"), Walmart ("Faded Glory") and Kmart ("Route 66"), and based on the success of those sales, Greensource is now launching major quantities at the volume retailers.
"It was exciting to make jeans that are not only more environmentally friendly, but also fashion-forward and affordable," said David Basson, president of Greensource.
Currently, federal law only pertains to the production of the organic fiber, such as cotton. However, organizations from around the world, including the Organic Trade Association, developed the voluntary Global Organic Textile Standard to address concerns in the processing of apparel and textile products and bring the practices more in line with organic goals. GOTS was agreed to in 2006, but the logo and guidelines were only announced last summer. All five of Greensource's manufacturing facilities were certified to GOTS by Control Union between 2007 and 2008, making them some of the first mills worldwide to gain certification.
Greensource, a trend-forward apparel design and manufacturing company based in Seattle, WA, is one of the nation's largest suppliers of private-label and branded apparel made with organic cotton. OrganicInStock.com, a division of Greensource, is a large supplier of certified organic cotton blank T-shirts for the men's, women's, and children's markets.