Fashion Group International-Sustainability:From a Trend to a Lifestyle

Sustainability: From a Trend to a Lifestyle

Join me September 26th for a panel discussion

with Fashion Group International-Jacksonville, FL Chapter

Organic Cotton from start to finish

It starts out as a seed popping it's head through the soil, reaching for the sunshine.....

naturally, without the use of any toxic chemical or fertilizer,

but it ends up creating beautiful threads to create your clothes.

At CATA we support the ongoing efforts and hard work of  the 

Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative

(Photos by: Kayla Pepper-CATA granted use)

Efficient bailing of cotton-protected from the weather until it can be delivered to the gin for processing and seed separation. 

After many steps it's turned into threads, then weaved into fabric and sewn into beautiful, chemical free clothes-sustainably!  All while supporting and nurturing Mother Earth.  Why would anyone want it to happen any other way?

Who Said Organic Clothes Were Boring?

Geometric Organic Cotton Interlocking Knit

We love this organic cotton interlocking knit created by Harmony Art Design.

It's colorful, sassy, flirty and everything but boring.

Keep It Natural, Keep It Simple, Keep It Organic

Organic and Natural fibre clothing is safe, sustainable and fashionable.

Organic Cotton Twill Dress

Organic Cotton Sateen Dress

Organic Cotton Muslin Dress

Dressing Babies in Safe, Pure & Natural Organic Cotton

Dressing your baby in safe, clean and sustainable organic cotton fabric is the right move to give you child a healthy start in life.

It simply does not matter if you choose to purchase chemical free baby clothes from a small conscientious  and integrity base company or have them custom sewn, what matters is the fact that you are choosing safe, toxic free clothes to start your baby's life in the best possible way.

At affiliate Silver Needle & Thread they custom sew an array of organic cotton clothes in the colors of your choice and design.  What a fun way to dress your newborn and infant.

Organic cotton voile 

Organic cotton gown, burping cloth and hat.

Organic cotton hooded towel set.

     
Learn more about Silver Needle & Thread

Cheap Disposable Fast Fashion Devalues Personal Self Worth

There's nothing more uplifting than being able to celebrate YOU!

Your uniqueness.

Your happiness.

All the things that make you who YOU are!

For hundreds of years our clothes gave us the ability to create our own self worth in a small yet significant way. 

Unfortunately, we're living in a world fueled by globalization, international markets and the centralization of production, manufacturing and raw material sourcing; making it difficult for small clothing companies seeking to design and create more personalized products that connect buyers to sustainable and conscious purchasing.  The well known brands of the fast fashion industry is the driving force of this truth.

The goal of mass produced fast fashion is to fit everyone into a giant square box, fostering the notion that we should all look the same, fit within the same standardized size category, wear only the colors we're told to and when or risk being put on the National Fashion Bandit List.  To step outside the parameters. be conscious of SELF and express personal style is to open one self to being ridiculed and ostracized  by friends, family and even strangers.  Often being called old fashioned, out of time, boring, nonconforming, over the top, insane or described using the infamous sentence, "What was she thinking."

In a society where we put little effort into really dressing well (really) it's ironic just how much people are judged on their image. Being stylish and ON TREND plays out in our everyday lives in all facets of who we are and what we do.  Despite the fact that what's viewed at the time as stylish and trendy is a fashion catastrophe and disaster in itself.  But, because it's what we're told to wear by the powers that be no one seems to question it much and society just comply like robots.  As a result of  follow the leader, women dress in garments that are demeaning, non age appropriate, incorrectly sized, uncomfortable, made using inferior low quality synthetic fabrics they hate and can't wait to toss out only after a couple of wears. No wonder the landfills are piling up around us worldwide.

Expressing self worth and personal style require time, creativity, investment and standards that have existed for centuries. There's just certain facts about dressing well and expressing one's personality in an intimate way through our clothes that will never change. When a woman dresses well to express her personality you can see it in her eyes, the way she walks and how she carries herself.  Big fashion brands churning out poorly constructed, color restricted, size prohibited garments using the cheapest and lowest quality fabrics they can create will never be able to compete with a woman who chooses to uphold her personal SELF WORTH and dress well.  

Oftentimes, doing what's right for you is never what's right for others....that's the beauty and uniqueness of you being YOU! Are you up for the challenge?  

• What's your favorite color and how often do you wear it?  Can you find it in the retail stores?
• What's your body style?  Are you a Triangle, Pear, Inverted Triangle, Diamond, Circle or Hourglass?
• What's your favorite fabric and why?
• How long have you been looking for a garment but has never found it?
• Are you a different size on top and bottom?
• If you were granted three fashion wishes what would they be?  Why?

At CATA Consumers Against Toxic Apparel we encourage you to buy natural and organic fibre clothing (it makes you feel good and keeps you comfortable), seek small companies creating well constructed garments that are stylish-unique and may have a personal story, create a style or trend that's right for you and compliments your personality, invest in quality, be sustainable and LOVE YOUR CLOTHES!

To learn more about us visit:https://www.facebook.com/cataorganic.

Toxic Clothing Contributing to Health Crisis | Clothes Don't Come With Warning Labels, But It Should!

Today's fast fashion is nothing but a bucket of toxic chemicals mixed together to create fabric for cheap disposable clothes.  

One garment can contain 8,000-12,000 toxic chemicals many of which the industry has no real idea of what their impact on our health may be.  Over 1,900 of these chemicals cannot be washed out of clothes.  The one's that can be washed out go down the drain to contaminate our ecosystem, water and soil.  Somehow when we're told a chemical can be washed out of a garment in our minds it makes it okay for it to be there in the first place and washing something down the drain magically makes it go away.  We must change this mindset-the chemicals are still hurting us as we depend on our ecosystem to sustain our lives.

These chemicals have not been tested, researched or analyzed to determine how their presence in our clothing affect our health through both short term and long term exposure.  Our skin is the largest organ on our bodies, it has the ability to absorb everything and anything it comes in contact with oftentimes penetrating deep into our bloodstream to cause harm to our health.

These toxic chemicals are silent killers. Sometimes, a person will have an immediate reaction to putting on a garment such as a burning sensation, uncontrollable itching, severe skin rashes, redness, vomiting, nausea, headaches and even dizziness.  When someone experiences this type of reaction and can associate the sickness to the garment they immediately begin to understand the negative impact and health threats of the clothing.  

Oftentimes, the danger is not so in your face but it's even more dangerous than the immediate signs as the negative effects build up over time and the chemicals are bioaccumulative.  Our clothes should not contain chemicals capable of harming our health period.  Yet, the toxic chemicals used to first create fabric and later treat fabrics can be linked to many chronic illnesses and diseases, many are also known carcinogens.  The following list is a very, very short list to include: 

• Neurological Brain Disorder
• Respiratory Tract Infection
• Breast Cancer
• Infertility & Sterility
• Leukemia
• Parkinson's Disease
• Dermatitis, Eczema, Psoriasis
• Severe Skin Ulcerations
• Prostate Cancer
• Endocrine Disruptor
• Kidney Damage
• Hormonal & Reproductive Dysfunction  
• Heart Palpitations 
• Obesity

Several of these chemicals can cause fatigue, muscle pain and depression as well.  There's something wrong with putting on your work clothes only to find yourself tired and feeling drained before you even get to work or experiencing feelings of depression when minutes before you were happy.  

Allowing our clothes to influence our life in such a negative way simply because you bought them at a bargain price should never be the case.  If clothing manufacturers were required to label all the chemicals used to not only create the fabric but finish the garment consumers could make more informed decisions in regards to if they wanted to expose their body or their children's body to these dangerous chemicals.  

Not labeling what chemicals are in our clothes is fraud on behalf of the fashion industry.  You have the right to know what's in your clothes.

Learn more about CATA Consumers Against Toxic Apparel-our goals-our mission.  We're working to keep you informed, safe and educated about the complexity of the textile industry, the things you should know and provide the solution.  We share research, data and current developments in the fashion industry keeping you up to date on technological developments. We connect you with resources for affordable, stylish organic and natural clothing in organic cotton, hemp, linen, organic hemp, peace silk, wool, and blends.  Organic and natural fibres are not filled with the toxic chemicals synthetic and man made fibres are created and filled with.  They feel more natural on your skin and to touch.  Natural fibres offer a sense of being connected to nature as we use nature to cover our bodies.

Be  aware of:

• Recycled plastic bottles into fashion.
• 3D printed garments.
• Stain repelling garments.
• Odor absorbing garments.
• Bio Fascination technology.
• Sensory (garments that release fragrance) fashion.
• NANO TECHNOLOGY  created fabric.

CATA is the co creator of the Sustainable Wellness Home Tour-Gala & Organic Festival, the textile verifier for PIV Pure Integrity Verified Seal, Jacksonville's first Sustainable Workplace Destination company obtaining 4 Leaf accreditation awarded by the Green Team Project and sister company to Silver Needle & Thread Custom Sewing Company specializing in organic and natural hand sewn apparel and design.

If you would like to know more visit this link: CATA.

Don't spend your money on clothes designed to make you sick.  You may not want to spend your dollars on quality fashion but eventually you will spend them on doctors and big pharmaceutical meds.  The choice is yours.....

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