Friendly Fibers, Friendly Fashion

This just in: it takes one-third of a pound of chemical pesticides to produce one conventional cotton T-shirt. Who knew? But this was enough to encourage me to seek alternatives that are both good for you and good-looking. After a decade in business, Under the Canopy, who coined the term “eco-fashion,” continues to cause a stir among its devotees who applaud their mission to “offer consumers a chance to eliminate large quantities of pesticides from their bodies, their homes, the Earth, and their children's futures.”

Turns out there’s lots to love about the company, starting with a commitment to preserving the “canopy of our planet’s ecosystem” by producing clothing, bed and bath ware, giftware, footwear and accessories made from sustainable materials. Their latest collection of organic tees, called “108,” fuses words of wisdom, colors from nature and sophisticated style. Founded by Marci Zaroff, a respected expert in the natural products industry, Under the Canopy uses smart fiber blends including organic denim, cotton angora and soy along with organic cotton grown in sage for color, clay-dyed fabrics and organic plant dyes such as oregano. What’s more, the advisory board reads like the who’s who of the natural living and wellness movement. They have much to teach us. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the fall/holiday collection at www.underthecanopy.com. /jb