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I always assumed that 100% cotton fabrics were the 'good guys' of the textile world – all fresh and natural. It's only recently that I've learned that cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land, yet uses roughly 25% of the world's pesticides – more than any other single major crop. Yikes!
Surprisingly, until World War II, cotton had been grown successfully for more than 5000 years without the aid of chemicals by planting at lower densities, rotating with other crops, and considering pest cycles in planting and harvesting. After World War II, things were different. Neurotoxins such as DDT were considered to be a cheap way of controlling pests, and dependence on chemicals became the rule.
The good news is that organic cotton crops are increasing. According to the Organic Exchange Farm and Fiber Report 2009, organic cotton is now grown in 22 countries worldwide, with India being the top producer. Organic fiber sales in the United States grew more than 10 percent over the previous year. Today, unlike just a few years ago, organic cottons have found a growing spot on fabric shop shelves. And, they are not the rustic, pale textiles you might imagine...
 The Global Organic Textile Standard
GOTS is the leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers worldwide. It defines high level environmental criteria along the entire supply chain of organic textiles and requires compliance with social criteria as well. "The aim of the standard is to define world-wide recognized requirements that ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.Textile processors and manufacturers are enabled to export their organic fabrics and garments with one certification accepted in all major markets."
Many of the organic fabrics I found either met or exceeded GOTS.
Choices
When I first started looking for organic cottons, the selection was small. Very small. It still is, but you know… it's growing and the fabric collections are colorful with plenty of fabulous prints and rich solids, and they feel wonderful. They are still more expensive on the front end, but it's hard to put a price on on the damage chemicals do to the environment and workers.
That said, let's take a look at some of the organic cottons sold by the yard today.
Birch Organics
Circa*50 by monaluna, is Birch Fabrics' debut line of 100% organic cotton. It mixes Eames era appeal with whimsical juvenile accents that lend themselves perfectly to home décor projects and apparel.
Birch has two appealing new collections on the horizon: Circa 60 Beach Mod and Marine. Circa*60 is available at Fat Quarter Shop now, and they will also carry the new collections as soon as they are available.
Cloud9 Fabrics
Cloud9's first collection, My Happy Garden, debuted in September of 2009, followed in May of this year with Beyond the Sea. I just had the opportunity to work with this collection with our Organic Box-Pleat Pillows and found it to be of truly exceptional quality. There was absolutely no compromise in look or feel from the low-impact organic dyes. Cloud9 will debut Forest Friends Flannel next month and in October, My Happy Nursery.
Harmony Art Organic Design
Harmony Art carries a rich selection of wovens and knits in both prints and solids. I like their edgy style and tagline: committed to keeping oatmeal and granola where it belongs... ." They carry certified organic cotton sateens – I'm a sucker for sateen. Check out their website to see both what's available now and what they're working on. Impressive.
Michael Miller Fabrics
We used Michael Miller Fabrics's beautiful Natural Organic Terry in several recent projects: baby bibs, burp cloths and hooded towel wrap with matching washcloth. MMF has a small but lovely group of organics: natural wovens, terry, fleece, sherpa plus a couple of cute trims. Some of these organics have been available since 2008, and are getting more difficult to find. If you see something you like, Google it. Some shops carry certain selections and you can still find it on Etsy and eBay.
Mod Green Pod
Mod Green Pod carries stylish organic cotton textiles printed on 100% certified organic cotton grown in the United States, as well as PVC-free wallpapers. Their printed fabrics have a finished width of approximately 54" and are printed on an ultra-soft but sturdy and strong upholstery-weight organic cotton suitable for a wide variety of upholstery and home decoration projects. I loved looking at the options here; it made me want to both wallpaper and re-upholster almost everything in my house.
Robert Kaufman
I found a nice selection of organic solids at Robert Kaufman. Pure Organic has a range of fifteen 44"-wide quilting weight solids on certified organic cotton and colored with low-impact dyes. In addition, I found Kona® Organics in black, white and natural 44"-wide cotton, and 59" Organic Canvas in natural with motes. Free to Grow, by Nancy Mims offers 100% organic quilting weight cottons. Nancy is one of the founders of Mod Green Pod. Free to Grow in the Spring colorway is shown below.
There are more and more sources for gorgeous organic cotton fabric. I couldn't post every worthy site I found, but we'll be back to this subject again as the options grow. And they will.
More Resources
Daisy Janie: Her new Geo Grand collection is fabulous – you can find it at Modern Organic Fabrics. She also has an Etsy shop with a nice selection of organic canvas and sateen.
Fabric.com: Rib knits, fleece, jersey knit, french terry.
Fat Quarter Shop: A growing selection of quilting weight cottons.
Modern Organic Fabrics: Colorful, modern organic cotton fabric and sewing patterns.
Near Sea Naturals: Organic cotton fabrics and notions, primarily milled in the USA, organic wool and hemp.
Organic Cottons Plus: They've been around since 1992 and carry a large selection of wovens and knits.
Spoonflower: Design and print your own fabric on organic cotton sateen or interlock knit, or shop from a huge selection of other designs and print on organic cotton.
Fabrics used in our feature image at the top of the article: top row left to right: Free to Grow/Nancy Mims for Robert Kaufman, Geo Grand/Daisy Janie, solstice/Harmony Art; second row: Aspire/Mod Green Pod, Beyond the Sea/Cloud9 Fabrics; bottom row: Circa*50/Birch, Free to Grow/Robert Kaufman, Circa*50/Birch.
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