We’re thrilled to have our pillows as part of 360 State Street, a new, upscale, green development in New Haven, CT. The project is the latest from Becker + Becker, a full service green architecture, planning, preservation and development firm in Fairfield, CT. Thanks to Kraemer Becker for including us in the project and for sending along this great shot!
Natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen, are crops grown using similar methods to food crops. “Organic” is a term that gets used a lot, but what does it really mean? For our certified organic cotton, here’s how it’s different.
Seeds
Organic cotton uses untreated and genetically unmodified seeds. Approximately 70% of the conventional US grown cotton uses genetically modified seeds.
Soil + Water
Organic cotton relies heavily on crop rotation and ground cover to retain moisture and keep the soil healthy. Conventional cotton uses harsh fertilizers.
Pests + Weeds
Pests + weeds are a huge concern for all types of cash crops. In conventional cotton, pesticides and herbicides are typically used to control pests + weeds, often with a genetically altered seed that resists certain chemicals. Conventional cotton production accounts for about 25% of the world’s insecticide use. With organic cotton, weeds are controlled by hand weeding or machine tilling. Pests are controlled through the use of “beneficial predators” (animals that eat common pests), or by planting a trap crop. Trap crops are used to lure pests away from the cotton.
Harvesting
To harvest cotton, the plant must be defoliated (the green leaves removed to get at the white fibers). Conventional cotton uses chemicals to defoliate. Organic cotton uses seasonal freeze and water starvation to naturally defoliate the cotton plant.
Pros
Cons
To find out more about organic cotton you can visit these links
http://www.aboutorganiccotton.org/
http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/organic_cotton.html
We’re so excited about our new line this year, we couldn’t even wait until it’s done. Below are some sneak peek images of what we’re working on. Soon we’ll be adding 100% certified organic cotton to our existing line of 100% linen products. We’ll also be adding a line of table top textiles such as placemats and napkins, and a new batch of fresh designs and colors (such as the golden yellow seen below).
Paper Cloud is proud to be a part of the ZENERGY House in California. The ZENERGY House project was developed as a guide to greening existing homes, using eco friendly products, energy efficient materials, and the latest technologies to create a modern home with the goal of zero net energy. This is a great example of how living green doesn’t have to sacrifice style.
The Spring issue of Midwest Living gives our eco-friendly pendants the “green” light for being screen printed on linen and using only water-based inks.
