How green are your blues? Organic cotton jeans

Most of us spend a good percentage of our lives in jeans, yet normal denim may have a host of scary chemical residues. If you saw the episode of House entitled “Poison” where two boys became deathly ill after buying and wearing bootleg denim that happened to be laced with pesticides, you don’t need to be reminded of the significance of the items that touch our skin daily.

So what about those jeans? Organic denim comes about having used fewer chemicals to grow the cotton. This means there are less chemicals left in the cotton. To wash their jeans, most companies use a chemical process called enzyme washing.

British brand Howies developed a new more gentle way of washing jeans. Using a rubberized ball called 'The Eco-Ball' tossed in with the wash, pants get a nice fricative beating and jeans came out looking like they had been washed without using chemicals.

When Levi’s unleashed their new line of Eco jeans, budget-conscious shoppers weren’t their choice audience. With a $250 price tag, the pants targeted upscale shoppers and only came out in select stores. Future cheaper versions of the jeans will include imported cotton and will not be as purely organic. The company believes that it is still too expensive to mass-produce organic cotton products.

Synthetic threads and dyes in denim don’t pose the same health threats as pesticides in non-organic food, however buying organic cotton products is a chance to support farmers who don’t use pesticides in their crops. The eco trend is strong right now, making demand for organic cotton rise each year.

Italian company Replay launched their line of Replay Organic Cotton Jeans in May, also targeting trendsters with deep wallets. Their premiere played up the ecology theme and offered courses in how to be an “Eco-fashionista.”

Right now, the demand for organic cotton products is so strong that it has outraced the crop supply. High-end retailers are able to jump into the market offering a big ticket price for a pair of pants that is 100% organic. The problem with supply and demand for cotton right now is that in the U.S. cotton must not be genetically modified in any way in order to be certified organic. In 2005, 52% of the American cotton was genetically engineered to ward against pests and disease. Until this number decreases, organic cotton remains a rare commodity.

So how do organic jeans line up? Check out these comparisons.

Howies
Howies Lizzie Jean
£80.00 ($162)
This low-impact jean is super slim with a low sitting waist and a skinny leg. The 10 oz organic stretch denim is woven in a 3 x 1 construction to keep the pant tough. The denim is from ring spun yarn that is eco-ball washed without enzymes or chemicals. The waistband in un-bleached and the stitching is designed to be durable.

Levi’s
Levi's {Capital E} eco 501 Jeans
$245.00
This female jean is an original button-fly boy-fit made from 100% organic cotton weighing 12.25 oz. It sits at the waist with a straight cut through the seat, thigh, and leg. The Rigid coloring is from dark ring spun denim with a green selvedge, and the pants include green stitching accents. The product is imported.

Replay
Replay Organic Blue Jean
Limited Edition
These hard-to-find pants featured organic cotton stitching, bar tacks instead of rivets, and vegetable tanned leather buttons attached with organic twine. They were eco-washed in essential oils and flowers, and then packaged in organic paper.