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About Eco-Kidz
Funky Togs
Eco Kidz specialise in Eco Friendly and Fair Trade funky clothing, luxuriously soft bedding and traditional and brightly coloured toys for babies and children. Most of our clothes are made from Organic Cotton and Bamboo and are Fair Trade but some are Fair Trade only, not necessarily organic. Our suppliers of these particular Fair Trade only products are continuously moving their products to Organic Cotton and are already using Eco Friendly dyes.
Unusual Toys and Room Accessories
Our toys, puzzles, jigsaws and games are all Eco Friendly and have been chosen carefully ensuring that we only supply products that are either made from renewable or sustainable sources or they are made from recycled products. Our 3D jigsaws, skipping ropes, Noah's arks, name plaques, letters, magnets, bookends, clocks and height charts are all eco friendly and fair trade, and are made in Sri Lanka.
Cute Leather baby shoes & gift sets
Our leather baby shoes have all been handmade in the UK and have been made using non-toxic vegetable dyes, so they're safe for those toe sucking babies! We have limited stock as these are all handmade to order, which can take approx 4 weeks, but please email info@eco-kidz.co.uk for more information on availability, sizes, etc.
Gift Packaging
We also offer recycled gift packaging for those special occasion purchases such as Baby Arrival, Christenings, Birthdays, etc.
About Bamboo
Why Bamboo clothing? Well, bamboo is:-
Naturally Organic - It is grown without pesticides or fertilisers, unlike conventional cotton which uses 25% of all the world's pesticides for only 10% of the agricultural land mass.
Luxuriously soft - Feels like silky cashmere.
Sustainable - Moso bamboo is the world's fastest growing plant, growing up to a meter in a day! Bamboo is a grass, so once cut it will regenerate in the same way as your garden lawn.
Eco-Friendly - Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees, more bamboo would help to cut the globally rising levels of carbon dioxide and help in the fight against global warming.
Absorbent - Bamboo absorbs up to 60% more water than cotton.
Breathable - The porous nature of the fibre makes it breathable and extremely comfortable against the skin.
Thermo-regulating - Keeps the wearer warm in cool weather and cool in warm weather.
Antibacterial - This property means the fabric stays fresher for longer, and is more healthy and hygienic. It means our denim styles can be washed less regularly and increases the environmental benefits.
Hypoallergenic - Bamboo's organic and natural properties make it non-irritating, so perfect for babies' extra sensitive skin.
About Organic Cotton
It's good for the environment - Cotton farming is one of agriculture's most environmentally destructive activities. Making clothing from 100% organic cotton means that one third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is saved for each garment produced - that's about a teacup!
It's good for your child - Organic products contain fewer chemicals and are far less toxic than many conventional products.
It benefits growers - Farmers growing cotton organically are able to reduce their overheads and the likelihood of getting into debt.
GOOD versus BAD
Non-organic cotton: BAD
Think about cotton fibres. They're natural, clean, fluffy and white – the picture postcard of healthy, environmentally friendly materials.
Unfortunately, nearly all cotton production is hugely (and increasingly) reliant on pesticides derived from petrochemicals.
In fact, 2.5% of all farmland worldwide is used to grow cotton, yet 10% of all chemical pesticides and 22% of insecticides are sprayed on cotton. Do a bit of maths, and you find that eight times more pesticide is used on one hectare of conventional cotton, than on other crops. (Now imagine dipping that fluffy bud of cotton in a vat of crude oil.)
Ok, so loads of chemicals are used on cotton, but are they so bad? Well, yes. They're awful. Here's why:
- Environmental destruction
Heavy pesticide use reduces biodiversity, disrupts ecosystems, and contaminates water supplies. Worse still, pests exposed to synthetic pesticides build up a resistance to them. So each year, farmers have to buy and use more pesticides to grow the same amount of cotton – increasing the annual damage to the environment. - Spiral of debt
Pests build up resistance to chemicals, farmer borrows money to buy more chemicals than before, farmer gets less profit from crop, repeat until farmer is destitute. In parts of India agricultural chemicals take up 60% of the farmer's production budget. In Maharashtra alone, the government estimates that over 1,000 farmers have committed suicide since 2001 because they were irrevocably in debt. - Health
Many chemicals used in cotton farming are acutely toxic. At least three of them are in the "dirty dozen" – so dangerous that 120 countries agreed at a UNEP conference in 2001 to ban them. So far this hasn't happened. The World Trade Organisation estimates 20,000 deaths and three million chronic health problems each year are the result of the use of agricultural pesticides in developing countries.
If that wasn't enough, conventional cotton farming also uses vast amounts of precious water. The Aral Sea has almost disappeared as the water courses that flowed into it have been diverted to grow ‘white gold' in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
This has been catastrophic for the fishing industries in those countries, and has also proved totally unsustainable. Years of rapid saturation/evaporation in these semi-desert soils has left salt residues, making the land unfertile.
Organic Cotton: GOOD
Organic cotton farming is not only less destructive to the environment, but provides better income for farmers and is sustainable long term.
- Environmentally friendly
Organic cotton farming uses natural pesticides (usually containing a mixture of chilli, garlic and soap). This keeps pests off the crops, but does not destroy their natural predators – which survive to control their numbers naturally. Intercropping is also used. This is where secondary crops (often sunflowers or millet) are grown between and around small plots of cotton. These create a natural barrier against the boll weevils, which cannot sniff out their favourite snack through the extra foliage. (These secondary crops may also provide another cash crop or food for the farmers, a useful backup in case of a poor cotton harvest.) In stark contrast to conventional methods, this way of farming actually promotes biodiversity; organic cotton fields contain a significantly higher number of insect species (especially those that are beneficial). - Farmer friendly
Customers are now prepared to pay a bit more for the quality and provenance of organic cotton, which is why organic cotton farmers can earn a 30% premium above conventional cotton prices. - Sustainable
Unlike the insatiably thirsty conventional methods of cotton production, organic cotton is largely rain-fed. The soils are fertilised with natural organic materials, which help to give the soil higher humus content – making it better able to retain moisture and its fertility.
The final word
So, it should be pretty clear why organic cotton fibre is infinitely preferable to the conventionally produced stuff. But just in case you need a reminder, we'll leave the summary to Ram Kalaspurkar, an organic cotton farmer from Maharashtra, India:
By buying an organic cotton T-shirt or bed sheet you are giving us the chance to re-establish our natural farming system in a way that is not hazardous to coming generations and the soil that nourishes us all.
Other terms you may find throughout our site:-
SKAL: SKAL is an internationally recognised (Dutch) body, which ensures that the cotton is grown organically, and that the processing (spinning, weaving, washing, dyeing,e tc) is undertaken in an environmentally responsible way.
Soil Association: Two of our suppliers have recently become certified by The Soil Association, which covers many of their products. This means that every part of the process is certified organic and you can trace it right back to the field where the cotton was picked!
Legal Information
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Contact Details
Write to:
Eco-Kidz
House on the Hill
Hardwick Road
Whitchurch on Thames
Reading
GBR
RG8 7HW
Tel:
0118 984 1688
Fax:
0118 984 1688
E-mail:
sales@eco-kidz.co.uk
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