Alternative Apparel has always been an innovator when it comes to fabrics, colors, and cuts, but their new line of eco-heathers and organic cotton apparel has most definitely raised the bar. Generally a constricted niche in the past, Alternative Apparel is now producing lines of eco-friendly products with no restriction on color or sass. A couple examples below:

Eco-Heather Crew
Unisex regular fit eco-heather s/s p.e. tee. Made with Eco-Heather, our uniquely imperfect blend of organic cotton, recycled polyester, and naturally occurring rayon.

• 20’s Eco-Heather: 38% cotton (6.25% organic cotton), 50% polyester (6.25% recycled poly), 12% naturally occurring rayon
• Low-impact yarn dyed, fabric washed for a super soft hand

The Rocky Eco-Fleece Zip Hoodie

Unisex regular fit l/s zip hoodie with kangaroo front pocket. Natural color zipper tape, nickel zipper, and shoestring hood ties give this classic item retro appeal. Wintertime just got a whole lot cozier!

• Eco-Fleece: 50% polyester (6.25% recycled), 46% cotton (6.25% organic cotton), 4% naturally occurring rayon
• Low-impact yarn dyed; enzyme fabric washed for a super soft hand
• Resilient fabric

Mother of two daughters, Sarah Broyles decided to combine her creativity and passion for empowered, active women. The result? Fauna Extreme: A series of active tanks we’re printing that are inspired by some of the amazing creatures in our environment.

Some Initial Photos of the Tanks

Here are some of the initial Mock-ups of the art. Stay tuned to see the finished product…

Fauna Extreme Initial Mock-up: Antelope

Initial Mock-ups Fauna Extreme: Tiger

UPDATE:
Fauna Extreme is up and running… here is a link to their online storefront and a few photos of their beautiful tanks. Good job Sarah!

Fauna Extreme's Beautiful Athletic Tanks

We work with a lot of up and coming designers to help create their own clothing lines – using our water-based inks to create custom printed labels. Think you’ve got ideas that the world should see? Give us a ring or drop us an email. We’re happy to talk over the process.

The use of organic cotton is up – worldwide production has inceased 153% last year alone – and for good reason.

Organic Cotton Crop

Less than 3% of agricultural land is planted with conventionally grown cotton, but that 3% consumes 20% of all pesticides used and 22% of all insecticides. According to the WWF (pdf), of the 46 chemicals commonly used on cotton, five are considered ‘extremely hazardous, eight ‘highly hazardous’, and 20 ‘moderately hazardous’.

And that’s just not bad for the planet. According to the World Health Organization 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries.

A 2000 USDA study revealed that eighty-four million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on cotton in the U.S.A
That adds up to 1/3 of a pound of chemicals to produce enough cotton for a t-shirt, and 3/4 of a pound for a pair of jeans.

Organic cotton not only diminishes the use of these terribly harmful substances, but it uses less water to irrigate, and regenerates the soil with sustainable crop rotation practices.

To read more about organic cotton:
Organic Trade Association
Hae Now

Ecobags, the leading maker of reusable organic cotton and recycled bags since its inception in 1989 is profiled in this NPR piece.

Brand new organic cotton apron from Hae Now. The bib apron is a sturdy medium weight organic cotton twill, classic 3-pocket style. As you’d expect from Hae Now, the cut and construction of the apron is high-quality and well thought out: a comfortable 3/4″ wide neck strap, extra-long ties, re-inforced stitch at stress points. 28″W x 25″L.

• 100% Organic Cotton
• Dyed with eco-friendly, low-impact dyes
• Color fast. Machine wash/dry
• Quality stitching
• Enzyme washed for extra softness

Call or write for pricing on custom printed organic cotton aprons…

Take a look at Hae Now’s production processes…