tropit

I've been shopping around on the internet for organic quilting fabrics. Most stores carry organics now, including Joann's. Cloud9 has some beautiful stuff. HoneyBeGood has some very nice sale and coupons on their organics. Robert Kaufman does an organic line. Fabric Indulgence has some gorgeous yardage. There's a few fabric artists on Etsy that sell their goods.

I'm also interested in batting. I usually use cotton and organic cotton is readily available now. Has anyone tried the bamboo/org. cotton batting? I hear it's really nice and luxe. I haven't looked at organic thread yet. I have way too much of the regular stuff right now.

Other sources???

~ Cindy

BellaBoo

I won a spool of organic cotton thread as a door prize. It was very linty and limp. It shredded too much when used on the machine so I used it for handsewing. Bamboo batting is not bamboo.

Federal Trade Commission want consumers to know that while bamboo does grow quickly with little or no need for pesticides and has found excellent uses in hard products like flooring and furniture, the soft bamboo textiles such as sheets, shirts, and batting are actually rayon, which is not an environmentally friendly product.

tropit

Well, just because it's labeled "Organic," doesn't mean it's a quality product, that's for sure. But, isn't that true for everything?

Another product that I've been seeing in the organics category is hemp/cotton blend fabric. Has anyone used this? I made my daughter's wedding dress from a hemp/silk blend. The fabric was absolutely beautiful and very durable. I imagine that hemp blend quilting fabrics would be long wearing.

~ Cindy

thimblebug6000

This is an interesting topic, thanks for opening it. Just scanning a few sites & found this blog, will check back later when I have more time. http://quiltersbattinguniversity.blogspot.ca/

Peckish

Bamboo is a very nice batting, soft with a lovely drape. However, if you want environmentally sound and socially responsible products, stay far, far away from it. I did a lot of research on it a couple of years ago, and it is NOT environmentally friendly.

tropit

I've heard that rumor. I used to work in the apparel industry and there was a lot of talk, pros and cons, about bamboo. With so much competition in that sector, I'm not sure what I believe to be true and what not to believe.

There are a couple of designations/certifications that are awarded to organic fabrics, which helps. One is the GOTS, which stands for, "Global Organic Textile Standard." Here's an explanation of what it stands for: http://tilth.org/certification/stand...-textiles-gots.

Another one is, "Organic Exchange (OE) 100," which tracks organic fibers, making sure that they do not get mixed up with non-organics.

"SBP,' gives honors for fabrics made out of sustainable and biodegradable products.

You can also look for the words, "low impact dyes," on the label, or description.

~ Cindy

tropit

Also, on the subject of batting...I was just looking at some quilting catalogs and they are now offering organic, Soy/Cotton blend batting. Hummm...what part of the soybean plant are they using? I assume not the bean, but the rest of the plant. Waste not, want not...true to a quilter's mantra.

~ Cindy

Peckish

Rumor?

Okay, here's the body of the article I wrote about bamboo batting. Read it carefully, investigate the links, and feel free to then draw your own conclusions. I personally could not care less what other people use for batting, but if it's important to you, please base your decision on more than just a "rumor".

What kind of batting to use is a decision that a lot of quilters have difficulty with. There are so many variables to consider, so many different products to choose from. Poly, cotton and wool are well known, tested, and documented. It’s looking as if that’s not the case with bamboo.


Lots of quilters got excited when the new bamboo battings came on the market. They were reported to be a sustainable, environmentally friendly and rapidly growing crop with antimicrobial properties, grown without harmful pesticides and fertilizers. For quilters looking to minimize their impact on the environment, their exposure to chemicals, and be “green”, this seemed like a dream come true.


However, the Federal Trade Commission has quite a different story. They want consumers to know that while bamboo does grow quickly with little or no need for pesticides and has found excellent uses in hard products like flooring and furniture, the soft bamboo textiles such as sheets, shirts, and batting are actually rayon, which is not an environmentally friendly product.


Going green is appealing to many people. But it’s difficult to go green if we don’t know the truth about the products we’re using. In fact, it can be detrimental to the life of our quilts.

I found an article on the web that discusses good vs. bad bamboo and how to tell the difference. In summary, bamboo is either processed chemically, which is harmful to the environment and the people processing it, or it's processed mechanically, which makes it organic and “green” but is very labor-intensive and actually costs more than chemical processing. Scroll halfway down the page for a short list of things to check when you’re considering purchasing bamboo batting.



Until further analysis and verification can be documented about bamboo (and labeling rules and laws are changed), it might be wise to stick with standards like wool and organic cotton battings that have been tested, confirmed and are widely available.


http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...ts/alt160.shtm

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5538.html

http://ecovillagegreen.com/2009/02/i...ndly-material/
http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_...-facts-be.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon
http://www.awakenedaesthetic.com/201...s-your-bamboo/

feline fanatic

Organic thread, Silk. Manufactured by silk worms. Can't get much more organic than that. But then you get into the animal rights issue on treatment of silk worms.

Daylesewblessed

Last summer I attended a lecture by an executive from Hobbs Batting (manufacturing headquarters in Waco, TX.) What the man said falls in line with Peckish's information -- It is manufactured in an environment heavy with chemicals. He said that they sell it, because people are on the organic bandwagon. They do produce an organic cotton batting.

I have a friend who farms in N.D. He has looked into the regulations on organic farming and says that the restrictions and recordkeeping are ridiculous -- as if farmers didn't have enough hoops to jump through.

I appreciate the pesticides on fabric sent from overseas, because I don't want invested goods. However, I do wash my fabric before using it.