Whether you or your clients are considering going green or are just thinking about organic cotton for the nursery, it is essential to have all the right information in order to educate yourself and keep your clients informed about their design options.
We are committed to protecting the planet by providing beautiful, yet eco-friendly choices to the interior designer. Schumacher’s standards for sustainability begin with knowledge about environmentally friendly processes and we want to share that with you. We hope the information below is helpful. But in case it isn’t enough and specific questions come up, we’d be happy to serve as a green resource so feel free to post and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Although regular, non-organic cotton is a natural fiber source, the crops cause a great deal of pollution to the environment, since they use a large amount of pesticides and fertilizer in order to be grown and harvested. 5 of the 9 pesticides used for growing cotton are known to be caner producing. As opposed to organic cotton farmers, who use biologically based, rather than chemically based, growing methods to raise cotton crops. Before these crops can be certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), organic farmers must use only approved materials that do not cause harm to humans, animals or soil life. They must develop an organize farm management plan, keep details records and be inspected annually by an accredited certification agency. For more detailed information on USDA certification, visit www.usda.gov and review the information under agriculture / laws and regulations / organic certification.
In addition to how organic cotton is grown, The Global Organic Textile Standard specifics how organic cotton is processed from fiber to finished product. For more detailed information on GOTS, visit www.global-standard.org. Of course, Schumacher sources many of our luxury products from European countries and these fabrics are produced with a certification from Oekotex, which is an international association. The Oekotex Standard 100 was developed to certify products as free of substances that are harmful to human health. For more detailed information on Oekotex Standard 100, visit www.oekotex.com.
The Institute for Marketecology (IMO) is a Swiss-based international agency for inspection, certification and quality assurance of eco-friendly products. IMO has been accredited by the USDA for organic certification and offers certification for organic production and handling according to European regulations. For more detailed information on IMO, visit www.imo.ch.
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