Comments on: When 100% Cotton Doesn’t Mean 100% Cotton

By: claire

claire — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:36:33 +0000

for those who said the beads look like glass. a good test for whether something is glass or plastic is to bite it– lightly, like you would gold (but don’t bite your gold jewelry, it might leave a dent). it will feel hard on your teeth and make a sound, you can compare it to biting plastic to see the difference. also, glass is colder to the touch than plastic is. I’m sure beth is well adept at sighting plastic by now, but if it’s ever in question, biting it will give you the right answer.
about the jacket, do you think the tag is plastic as well? because I don’t think tags are normally made of cotton, they wear out too fast. I personally have an addiction to polyester (specifically vintage 70′s collared shirts), but I always get them second hand so I’m ok with it. I also am an avid thrift store shopper and I made the decision to only buy secondhand clothes. not only are there the problems of plastic and child labor and industrial pollution, etc, but the sheer volume of clothing (like everything else) that is produced is probably enough to clothe everyone on the earth for the next hundred (or longer?) years, so I don’t want to contribute to the demand for new clothing. I know there are people who try to eliminate plastic entirely for the sake of their health, but I have a love hate relationship with it as well, and wouldn’t want to part with all of my colorful plastic treasures.

By: athot

athot — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:05:49 +0000

and what of the thread??

By: Rosa

Rosa — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:17:34 +0000

They used to make buttons out of shell – the mississippi is littered with shells from 80 years ago full of neatly punched button-sized holes. I wonder if there isn’t a manufacturer making those somewhere – when we were in the Hebrides, in Scotland, we found a giant mountain of shells (uh…clams?) near a seafood-processing plant.

I wonder if there’s a way to harvest Zebra Mussels or one of the other invasive species without harming the native shellfish, various places – there’s enough Zebra Mussels around here to button up millions of jackets.

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:45:50 +0000

Having had cancer….. And an estimated 60%+ will have cancer. The best thought is how can we find ways to not tax our immune systems. I guess the discussions are really about life and health, and cancer ridden deaths by a large number of our population versus “real health reform”. When it comes to toxic additions to our biochemical mechanisms “Less is more”.

By: Carnival Of The Green, Edition #200! | Green Stocks Central

Carnival Of The Green, Edition #200! | Green Stocks Central — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:55:25 +0000

[...] Tyler over at Frugally Green discusses the power of the consumer in creating change and forcing corporations to be increasingly environmentally responsible. Money talks! A good example of this is Beth at Fake Plastic Fish, who obsessively refuses to where anything made with plastic. [...]

By: Michael at Wrapsacks.com

Michael at Wrapsacks.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:22:35 +0000

We use coconut buttons on our reusable gift sacks (which are 100% cotton).

Your post got me wondering whether natural buttons are easy to find on retail clothing. A little bit of online searching has me thinking maybe not. I did find Hawaiian shirts with coconut buttons, but you might not want to wear those everyday in your line of work.

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:35:01 +0000

Beth, have you heard about the rashes being caused by tagless labels on baby clothing? Seems these labels are plastic and it's likely that pthalates are the cause of some heartbreaking reactions on babies. .-= Martin´s last blog ..Christmas Gift Idea: Locally Made Wooden Toy Truck =-.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:47:52 +0000

I’ve just recently started paying attention to clothing labels after realizing how hypocritical it was to avoid plastic packaging and yet be buying *new* clothing that was made of 100% polyester! I must admit though that one of my favorite dresses is made of 100% polyester and one of the reasons I love it so much is that it never wrinkles… However, I am trying to be more ardent about paying attention to clothing labels as shopping for clothes is one of my downfalls.

I did however find some “ecco” athletic wear at Sports Basement in the Presidio. And I am looking at the labels just for you:

t-shirt – 100% organic cotton – made in USA and very cute I might add
“cool-fit t-shirt – 68% bamboo lyocell (?), 27% cotton, 5% spandex
workout top with built in bra (not best support but for yoga etc if fine – not so much for running) – 95% bamboo and 5% spandex
workout pants – can’t find label but most likely synthetic fibers

I’m guessing spandex is synthetic but thought it was kind of cool that they are able to make clothing out of bamboo.

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:42:50 +0000

@Pavlina, thanks for pointing out “Exclusive of Decoration.” Sometimes I think I’m blind or just see what I expect to see. I didn’t even notice that! And thanks for pointing out the info about the thread. It’s not that I’m going to avoid sewn clothing! It’s just good to be aware.

Regarding Patagonia’s recycled plastic clothing: I’m sceptical. Why? Because in the film “Addicted to Plastic,” a Patagonia rep said that they put all kinds of plastic in their clothing — including old shower curtains. Um… that’s PVC. Very toxic. I just don’t want to walk around in that stuff. I lean more towards Chantal’s point of view (who commented above.)
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..This Weekend is All About Plastic =-.

By: Indoor Kitty

Indoor Kitty — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:16:42 +0000

Smartwool. Can’t say enough nice things about their socks. I have super sweaty, cold feet. (Mom has stories about changing my socks as often as my diapers.) Hanukkah Harry (aka my wonderful husband) gets me a few new pairs every year. I just bought a Smartwool base layer at TJ Maxx for $26. Awesome deal that I can’t wait to try out. That said, I’m a sucker for microfiber underthings. It gets hot in the South, and the wicking makes a world of difference.