The Soft Sell: Companies Embracing Organic Cotton

“Organic cotton” brings to mind softness and purity, things most parents associate with their babies. Organic cotton has gained popularity in recent years –– particularly in infant fashions –– because of its gentleness on both the skin and the planet. Grown without pesticides and produced without excessive chemicals, organic cotton has been shown to cause fewer allergic reactions in chemical-sensitive individuals. This point is particularly important to parents of children with these sensitivities.

The market for organic cotton and other environmentally friendly clothing is full of both established and emerging companies. It pays to do a little research and find out which ones have the most cutting-edge styles, the most creative designs, and state-of-the-art “green” manufacturing practices. Here are a few worthy of retail consideration: Pickle Peas, mini mioche, Itsus Eco and Bungalow BeBe.

Tots are Never Fully Dressed without a Bib

Babies are messy. Between dirty diapers, creative eating styles, and an insatiable desire to observe the spill patterns of liquids, young kids provide parents with hours of clean-up challenges. Moms and dads usually jump at the chance to cut down on common sources of messiness, or at least make them easier to handle. Pickle Peas is a company that offers stylish and convenient children’s wear that’s made to take the daily wear and terror that babies dish out.

Pickle Peas offers a variety of basic organic cotton shirts and pants sets, but they come with detachable bibs in the shape of cars, robots and animals. Kids will enjoy the cute slobber-catchers, and parents will appreciate the convenience of a bib that snaps on and off easily. The bibs can be mixed and matched with the separates, so baby can be cutely color-coordinated.

Pickle Peas’ founder Shannon Byrne was a mom inspired by her own life experiences. When her kids were going through the drooling that often accompanies teething, she sought a simple and effective way to manage the mess. She experimented with designs until she found one that worked, and the rest is history.

Drool over the full line at www.picklepeas.com

With mini mioche, Being Green is Cool

Canada is becoming known as a country that’s on the forefront of eco-conscious living. A number of Canadian companies are taking steps toward making their products safer for the environment; they also strive to provide clean, safe working conditions.

Ethical practices have always been at the core of mini mioche, founder Alyssa Kerbel’s business vision. The Toronto-based company’s products are designed and produced in Canada using water-based reusable dyes and organic cotton.

The clothing line focuses on neutral colors and the softest fabric. It also offers classy bib choices. Part of the line’s charm is that it breaks many of the rules of baby clothes. Rather than pink or blue bibs covered in smiling animals, mini mioche’s versions come in a simple, unadorned shape and classic colors like heather gray and navy blue.

If parents are looking for a collection of decidedly non-cutesy (but still very cute!) one-pieces, dresses, pants, and tops that make it easy to match baby’s outfits, mini mioche is an excellent choice.

Every color is “green” at www.minimioche.com

Itsus Eco Creates Apparel Art

Itsus Eco is another company to watch on the Canadian front. They offer certified organic cotton baby clothing in a rainbow of eye-catching solids as well as unique prints. Their striking designs are not traditional baby graphics; instead they have the look of watercolor paintings of fruit, flowers and plants.

These pieces are more than just clothing — they’re works of apparel art, and yet they’re super-comfortable and easy for an active little one to wear. Parents can take pride in buying a product made in North America under ethical conditions and from a company with a mission to revolutionize the process of producing organic cotton clothing.

When Richard Brown started Itsus, he knew he wanted to create clothing that was environmentally friendly, but as he did research into the process of making cotton cloth, he realized he had his work cut out for him. In order to make products truly eco-safe, he would have to make changes at all levels of the manufacturing process, so he set out to do just that. Today, Itsus’ Eco System Green manufacturing method is gaining attention and respect from “green” clothing makers around the world.

Check out how Itsus puts the “Ohhh” in “organic” at www.itsus.ca

Bungalow BeBe Celebrates Individuality

Bungalow BeBe is a New-York based company serving up classic organic cotton clothing in sizes NB through 2T. The pieces feature clean lines with interesting design flourishes, and like the offerings in many contemporary children’s’ clothing lines, they come in easily mixed-and-matched colors. While Bungalow BeBe clothes are stylish and mature, they have a definite youthful and innocent look that doesn’t attempt to be too edgy.

For example, the boys line features a range of cargo shorts, comfy pants, hoodies, tees and button-down shirts in olive green, navy, tan and orange. The girls’ collection charms with simple a-line dresses, soft belted tops and ruffled capri pants with a color emphasis on pinks, lavenders and maroons. The ultra-soft Bungalow Booties are luxurious cotton baby booties with flap closures made to cradle a tiny feet.

Toni Romano launched Bungalow BeBe in 2007 to express her creative vision for infants’ apparel. She wanted to provide an organic cotton option that was not only modern and wearable, but also affordable. Her company has caught on and gotten plenty of positive retail attention for both children’s clothing and eco-friendly products.

Peek inside the Bungalow to see what’s new at www.bungalowbebe.com