Chicago’s world famous Magnificent Mile shopping district is a treasure of organic style. Participants in the All Things Organic™ Fiber Walking Tour found an abundance of organic apparel and home products. Tour participants visited Banana Republic, Gap, H&M, the Levi’s Store®, and Skinstinct, to learn about the stores’ offerings and their commitment to organic fibers such as cotton, wool, and linen as well as sustainable fibers such as bamboo, hemp and linen.Most exciting was the retailers’ attention to attractive style and fit, with several companies offering fashion-forward items with fun colors and lace-up or peek-a-boo backs, and more. Fortunately for consumers, these stores offer organic products for babies, kids, men, and women, making it more possible than ever before to wear affordable organic fashion.
And wear it they do – several stores noted they routinely sell out of their organic apparel within weeks, with some consumers coming in expressly to purchase organic items. Others just like the style and get the added bonus of it being organic
The tour was a learning experience for reporters, retailers, organic certifiers, U.S. Department of Agriculture regulators, and Global Organic Textile Standard experts on the tour, with in-depth discussions of proper labeling, processing standards, water use and emissions, carbon footprints, and other topics.
Did you know that . . . U.S. sales of food and non-food organic products reached $24.6 billion by the end of 2008, growing an impressive 17.1 percent over 2007 sales, according to the Organic Trade Association’s 2009 Organic Industry Survey. Organic fiber/linens/clothing in 2008 totaled $472 million, up 65 percent from 2007. This figure mirrors the growth in the international organic fiber market.
According to the Organic Exchange Organic Cotton Market Report 2007-2008, global retail sales of organic cotton apparel and home textile products reached an estimated $3.2 billion in 2008, representing a 63 percent increase from the $1.9 billion market in 2007.
