Naked Cotton T-Shirts
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 01.28.08
Naked Cotton had its genesis when founder Brandon Levey had trouble finding organic apparel that was "trendy, artistic, and sexy." "It became apparent to me that the only options were dull and rather unattractive clothing that was marketed towards women in their 40s and above," he writes on his Web site. (Trendy, artistic, and sexy 40-plus women, excepted, of course. You know who you are.)
Based in San Francisco, Calif., Naked Cotton is completely homegrown. Cotton that is grown on certified transitional and organic cotton farms in the San Joaquin Valley is processed and stitched into shirts in Los Angeles by American Apparel. In Livermore, only water-based inks and adhesives—not icky PVC-based plastisol that gets crusty and cracked—are used to manually hand-print every piece of clothing, so the inks saturate the actual fibers of each shirt. The result? Tees that are as lovely to behold as they are to wear.
Check out some of Naked Cotton's designs below the fold. ::Naked Cotton
I love that everything is done in california and everything is all natural, but $42 for a t-shirt?!?! When will sustainable and healthy be affordable. There is a thing called economic sustainability and many "green" brands seem to miss the mark. People use the excuse that it's alright to pay more because it supports the cause, which is true to a point, but it gets ridiculous when profit margins and bottom lines are involved. All I want is an affordable(doesn't have to be dirt cheap) organic fair trade cotton t-shirt and pair of jeans that doesn't have any designs/graphics on it. Is there anyone that produces something like this out there? If not, I guess I found a good business to start.
My guess is that prices will adjust when the supply/demand increases.
T-shirts are $5 at Target because they run lots of thousands and they do it as inexpensively as possible.
What is happening here is not only a high quality product, but the HAND blocking. That means that you're not paying for machines to decorate while some yokel pushes the On Button and makes sure the t-shirts don't jam. (No offense to those guys, they have their place and there's a need for that particular talent.)
My guess is that this $42 t-shirt will last you much longer than 8 $5 t-shirts ever would.
And they're darn cute to boot.
Glenn, once you start that business and you begin to source organic cotton, paying fair trade labor prices (or in this case US labor prices) and hand-printing each piece of clothing...we'll see how much more affordable you'll be able to price your clothing and still turn a profit.
why turn a profit though? why not run as a non-profit, just pay everyone a decent wage (including the "owner"). we need more non-profit businesses to tackle our environmental problems.
@Emily, I've bought premium, designer t-shirts in the past. No matter how you slice it, screen printing just doesn't seem to care how expensive the shirt was. I'd say on average, my really nice (expensive) shirts have lasted as long or worse than the 5$ bargain bin specials. I'd love to be proven wrong though! I think I'd want to see some user reviews before taking the plunge.
Planet B has it right. Why turn a profit. We only need enough to live. Maybe I'd only sell to the region I live in as well so as not to need major technological advances or unfair labor practices to handle large loads while keeping costs down. In addition I would refrain from any sort of major travel of materials or product. Then if the idea works, I can find groups of people to do the same thing I'm doing only in a different location to spread the good and affordable clothing. I'd only supply the model for doing the work though. They'd take it from there.
Emily, you're somewhat missing the point of the target $5 Tee and why we don't want it. The true costs of the Target Tee are not reflected in the price we pay. These true costs come from all the negatives that result from creating the target Tee. Things like human and environmental suffering at the hands of a multinational corporation. However that doesn't mean that the true cost of doing a Tshirt right is $42. We should find out how much these Naked shirts wholesale for so we can determine why they are so expensive. And while I love hand made goods, these shirts are manufactured by american apparel, who have their own machines. So they are probably not hand made.
Unfortunately the realities of paying $5 for a t-shirt are:
-Sweatshop labour for the entire production process
think about it- someone must be making a profit on a $5 t-shirt- it certainly isn't the sewer or the screen printer no matter how many you produce.
Sustainability for me is not just about the finished item. It looks at the entire design process from conception through to the end of the product life. It is cyclical. If you want a 'sustainable' t-shirt you first have to stop looking at just the fibre content and consider the production methods, company credability etc. Take this all into consideration and you will never get a a sustainably produced t-shirt for $5.
And also, as a sustainable design practioner I can say that it we want to encourage a stronger sense of attatchment to the things that you purchase. If you pay $5(the $5 example again sorry) for an item of clothing, there is no sense of having to nurture and truely value your purchase- it was only $5 you can always get another one.
Clothing is not meant to be disposable.
Hmmmm...cute, sexy girls on your site, but they do not look like your typical 40+ woman...do you need 40+ sexy women for your future shoots...if so...let Catherine or me know...Ciao! Mia
I've gotta say, every time something new designer eco clothes are displayed on treehugger people start to go nuts about the price. $40 bucks for a designer Tshirt is about average. 60 is the high end. This shirt isn't made to target the, well, target/walmart crowd yet, its made for those who are already shelling out this kind of money for fashion.
I don't need a $5 sweatshop T, but there has to be a happy medium.
http://www.nosweatapparel.com has tshirts that are non sweat shop, and affordable, and organic.
Obviously, I am not in the target demographic for designer T's, because I just can't imagine spending that large a percentage of my paycheck for a t-shirt.
Let me clear the air. The cost of these shirts is directly related to the quality. I just received mine last week and I got some great responses from it here in hermosa.
Oh yeah, did I mention theyre really really comfy. Cheaper T-shirts...yeah. Better t-shirts...not really
Seriously, some of you people have way too much time on your hands. (Not that I can talk because now I'm posting too.) But anyway, I think it was said already....you get what you pay for. If the t-shirts are out of your price range, then shop at Target. I love Target, but it's a known fact that the clothes are of cheap quality, not to mention that they lack style. On the other hand, if you want a super comfortable t-shirt made of high quality material that has a unique style, go to nakedcotton.com. It is what it is, so take it or leave it.