There are a variety of organic materials available nowadays, giving much more choice to the consumer. Organic cotton is probably the most widely available, certainly in terms of high street presence, but there are also other organic materials on the market including wool, linen, leather and hemp.
Organic wool is wool from organically reared sheep and goats and is available as ready made clothes as well as for consumers to make their own garments. There are numerous suppliers in the UK and your local wool shop may be able to supply you with organic wool.
Other organic materials include linen and hemp which are a little less widely available although increasingly so. Organic hemp in particular is becoming more popular for various textile uses as it grows very quickly, yielding considerably more therefore per acre than either cotton or flax (for linen), and has beneficial characteristics such as durability and absorbency. One area in which hemp is becoming popular is for use in reusable nappies due to its absorbent properties.
Organic leather is also available in the UK with many typical leather clothing items available in organic leather. This includes shoes, although as far as we are aware none of the major shoe manufacturers or retailers produce or sell organic leather shoes.
In the case of all of these organic materials, you can find more information on producers and stockists on the Soil Association’s Why Organic website. Their directory contains listings for all the organic materials mentioned here.
Visit the following pages for more information on organic products:
