Cotton. What quilter could live without it? Cotton is not only the backbone of any quilter’s stash; it’s also one of the world’s leading cash crops. More than 90 million acres in 80 countries worldwide are devoted to growing cotton. Unfortunately, the typical journey from cotton plant to finished quilting fabric involves a long series of toxic chemical interventions – spraying the fields with petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, transporting the baled cotton long distances, coloring the fabric with petroleum-based dyes, then finishing it with formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals.
The High Environmental Cost of Conventional Cotton
According to the Organic Trade Association, conventionally grown cotton consumes 25% of all insecticides used around the world each year. The World Health Organization attributes hundreds of thousands of deaths a year to pesticide poisoning. Many of the other products quilters use, from polyester batting to spray adhesives, also carry with them a heavy toxic burden.
What’s an Environmentally Conscious Quilter to Do?
Obviously, you can’t give up quilting! Luckily, a new wave of organic fabrics and other products for quilting is arriving at your local quilt store. It’s now possible to find greener versions of almost all the supplies you use for quilting—fabric, thread, batting, adhesives, and even trims such as buttons and ribbons.
Look for the Organic Label
If you really want to make sure you’re using a product that was grown and manufactured with minimal environmental impact, check for the words “certified organic” on the label. An organic certification verifies that the product was made with methods and materials that reduce or eliminate the use of most synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, and additives, and that the producer undergoes periodic inspections to make sure these standards are being met.
In the United States, organic standards are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and monitored by independent certifying agencies. Outside the United States, you will see a variety of certifying marks from groups that monitor organic standards in different countries.
Sources of Certified Organic Quilting Products
Organic Quilting Fabric
Several manufacturers currently offer organic fabric lines:
- Michael Miller Organics
- Kona® Organics from Robert Kaufman
- Nature’s Palette from Avlyn, Inc., organic cotton also dyed with non-toxic dyes.
- NearSea Naturals offers organic cotton and organic wool fabrics, as well as a line of eco-friendly hemp fabrics
- Oasis Canvas from Marcus Fabrics is organic cotton fabric in a heavier home décor weight.
Organic Quilting Thread
Organic thread is harder to find than organic fabric. Here are two sources of certified organic thread:
- YLI Organic Cotton Thread (available in white, natural and black, in two weights: Multipurpose 40-weight and Topstitching 60-weight)
- NearSea Naturals Organic Thread (30-weight)
Organic Quilt Batting
- Hobbs “Heirloom” Organic Cotton Batting
Quilting Products Can be Eco-Friendly without Being Organic
Some products that aren’t certified organic are still more earth-friendly than their conventional cousins. Bamboo, for instance, is a fast-growing, 100% renewable crop that needs no fertilizers or pesticides to thrive. It absorbs two-thirds more carbon dioxide from the air as it grows and releases two-thirds more oxygen than other trees. Hemp is another plant that needs no pesticides or herbicides to grow and produces three times as much fiber per acre as cotton.
Wool and alpaca quilt batting are both harvested without harming the alpaca or sheep that grows the fleece and can be produced without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
If you’d like to reduce the environmental impact of your quilting, any of these products make excellent, eco-friendly substitutes for the chemical-laden versions made from conventionally-grown cotton or petroleum.
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Christine Mann - Christine Mann writes about quilting, home decor sewing, and creativity in daily life.
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