You are what you eat they say. A truth sparking such a shift in our food consumption that the demand for organic food has transformed toxin-free grub into the fastest growing sector of the food industry. A sector which has been increasing sales by double digests annually, outstripping the growth rate of the overall food market with ease.
Despite our increased understanding as a society on the effects toxin-filled food has on our bodies, we often forget about the digestion done by the sliest taster in the anatomy of our species; The five million pores stretched out across our body, which acts as a series of tiny little mouths drawing 60% of the substances we lay on it into our bloodstream through our skin.
PICKLED IN PESTICIDES
Natural fabrics start their lives as seeds just like all our foods do treated – unless organic – with pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. Whatever the final product of any crop, the health harms these toxins cause are extensive. Affecting all living things negatively from cradle to grave without discrimination. From the farmers in the fields inhaling toxic chemicals and tainting their soil and freshwater, to those processing the crop in the factories breathing the chemicals in, then finally to the consumer who adorns themselves in it, and the landfills most garments end up in.
According to the World Health Organization, the use of crop chemicals results in over 25 million deaths yearly in developing countries and more than 10,000 deaths in the US. Beyond the cancers, asthma, development disorders and Parkinson’s disease which result from long-term exposure, skin irritations, rashes, headaches, nausea, extreme weakness, seizures and dizziness can be caused by the single exposure or continued contact with small amounts of the chemical residue trapped in things like the threads of clothes. The portion of fabric to pesticide ratio is greater than the slight spritzes we imagine it to be. For every 200 gram piece of fabric, about 150 grams of pesticides are used, pickling non-organic cotton in chemicals to the point that it’s nearly more parts pesticides than crop in the end, adding up to 360,000,00 kilograms of health and planet harming pesticides dumped into the environment per year.
On top of the chemicals used in natural fabrics causing issues in all types of apparel, sportswear presents a particular problem due to the fact that sweat and friction prompt a more rapid absorption of toxins into the body. Greenpeace recently analysed the chemical content in popular sportswear fabrics both natural and man-made and found hazardous chemicals like Phalates (linked to certain cancers, adult obesity and reduced testosterone in men and women), PFC’s (classified by EWG as toxic to humans), Dimethylformamide (which can cause liver damage), Nanoparticle silver (endocrine and DNA disruptor), Nonylphenol exoylates (associated with reproductive issues), Triscolan (linked to liver toxicity).
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
It’s easy to avoid these issues altogether by buying natural organically farmed fabrics. The gear I’m pictured wearing in this piece is by ASQUITH LONDON and was created with the best quality bamboo and organic cotton with a wide selection of organic women’s activewear.
Both fabrics which are produced both ethically and sustainably, allowing your skin to breath naturally while internal morals are met with the entire collection produced in a family-run factory in southern Turkey where employees work from 9 am to 5 pm and are given paid holiday.
Both fabrics which are produced both ethically and sustainably, allowing your skin to breath naturally while internal morals are met with the entire collection produced in a family-run factory in southern Turkey where employees work from 9 am to 5 pm and are given paid holiday.
The quality of the fabric and form is exemplary, each piece tightly woven and built for longevity. Maintaining shape while neither fading nor pilling, it sets across you like a second skin, soft to the touch yet stylish enough to spend hours wrapped in its wonderful weave. I recently enjoyed a 10hr bus ride in the outfit pictured (plus a t-shirt and sweatshirt), it was comfier than PJs yet I felt like an athleisure style queen.
Most importantly, ASQUITH LONDON’s collection is perfect for any sort of athletic activity, In the two months I’ve owned their gear, I’ve worn it for running, yoga, weight workouts, walks, bike rides, hikes, and climbs and been accompanied by it with both form and fluidity. Stretchy yet structured in a true sign of consciously created quality.
ITEMS MENTIONED / PICTURED IN THIS PIECE
High waisted, formed and super stylish, organic yoga pants and organic yoga leggings are breathable, chemical free, four-way stretch, durable, responsibly made and sustainable, these leggings are made of 60% bamboo, 30% organic cotton and 10% elastine.
Super supportive of the breasts while fitted to follow the form of the female body, this organic yoga crop top is made up of the same fabric as the leggings making it also breathable, chemical-free, four-way stretch, durable, responsibly made and sustainable, these leggings are made of 60% bamboo, 30% organic cotton and 10% elastane.
SPONSORED POST: This post was sponsored by ASQUITH LONDON. As per usual, all opinions, facts, content, tone, images, flow and rhetoric are my own direction and creation.
PHOTOS: Shane Woodward
SOURCES CDC, WRI, PAN-UK, URBAN TIMES, THE GUARDIAN, EWG 1, EWG 2, CDC 2, NCBI, MIT, EUROPA, THE GUARDIAN 2
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