USA: New program promotes using organic t-shirts for marketing

In a new partnership with sustainable fashion manufacturer MetaWear, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is encouraging its members to promote their businesses, brands and causes on custom-printed organic, eco-friendly t-shirts, and support their trade association at the same time. Under the partnership, OTA members get a 10% discount on screen-printed organic cotton t-shirts produced by MetaWear that meet the requirements of the GOTS governing textile processing. In return, MetaWear will donate a portion of the sales collected to OTA.
 

The program was launched during Natural Products Expo East that took place in Baltimore on 17 – 20 September. OTA distributed 200 custom-made t-shirts to highlight OTA's Annual Awards Celebration to be held as part of OTA activities there.

"We're on our way to revolutionizing the textile industry, one t-shirt at a time," says Marci Zaroff, Eco-fashion pioneer and Founder of MetaWear, explaining the company applies GOTS standards at every step of production to reduce its carbon footprint and promote conscious consumption. For example, its screen-printing process uses a proprietary seaweed-based dye instead of chemicals, and the company's solar-powered factory in Fairfax, Virginia, operates using a zero-waste production process to minimize its ecological impact.
 

As consumers seek more ecologically and responsibly processed textiles, more companies are becoming GOTS certified. According to the Organic Trade Association's 2014 Organic Industry Survey, fiber, for the second year in a row, is the largest non-food organic category in terms of sales, reaching US$960m (€741m) in 2013. US organic fiber product sales were up 16% over those in 2012. Apparel is the leading segment, followed by household textiles and baby products. More information is available from OTA.