Did you know textile manufacturing is responsible for approximately 20 % of industrial water pollution? I am pretty much a cold turkey kinda person...so when I first found out about weaponized fabric from Kaleigh at Nutrition Elements¹, I overhauled my wardrobe. I got rid of so many things (that I needed to do anyways) and then I went on a mission to find linen and organic cotton clothes. I'm also open to other natural fibers (i.e. real silk). They're not too hard to find, luckily. However, finding economical clothing replacements, that was a challenge. I've searched and have found my favorite sources for accessible natural fabric clothing. But first, why?
"Synthetic fibers are man-made fibers developed to improve the properties of natural fibers²" My oh my, when are we going to learn that man made can never replace nature?
What are examples of weaponized fabrics? Synthetic fibers like:
- polyester
- nylon
- rayon
- acrylic
Adding insult to injury, PFC's are added to clothing for anti-wrinkling, waterproofing, stain resistance. Formaldehyde to prevent shrinking. Touted as saving lives, only to kill you slowly, brominated flame retardants may be linked to: "endocrine disruption, reproductive and immune dysfunction, birth defects, developmental neurotoxicity, and certain types of cancers³."
The thing is, what's on that tag is only a snippet of the process. I've been reading ingredient labels for years. Now I add clothing tags into the mix. Honestly, I think what's on that tag (or what's implied by what's on the tag) has to be disclaimed. What's NOT on the tag is just as important. The thing is, I just didn't know my clothing was -- or could be weaponized.
I've been living in linen and wet hair for about four months now and I love it. Although rare, when I do happen to wear something weaponized, like when I dress up (I need to work on the natural-fiber, cold-weather dress department), I feel like I am uncomfortable in my own skin, like I can't wait to get a shower, and can't stop fidgeting. My nervous system is so much more calm in a linen-laced environment, haha.
Now that you know why this is so important to me, tap through my list of where I find relatively fairly priced, natural fabric clothing:
To highlight a couple:
Basics - affiliate code: SATIATEDBLONDE
Undergarments (Knickey is now Subset)
I have to say that the grocery store was the most surprising place that I found natural fibers! The DIP brand is exclusively sold in stores (at Kroger) and although they do have some 100% organic cotton, a lot of their clothing is mixed fiber, so I will often find perfect 100% organic cotton blended with synthetic polyester. I just have to make sure I am not greenwashed and check each and every tag.
Do you have other places you like to shop for natural, real clothing materials? Leave me a note in the comments and as always, #GetSatiated.
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