Why is organic clothing important when dressing your baby?

At MORI we believe that organic clothing is important for looking after your baby's delicate skin, but why believe us? Cecilia from Nurture with Nature explains the importance of caring for your little one's health & future by dressing them in organic clothing.

When it comes to dressing your baby, everyone always mentions organic baby clothes but what is the importance of this and do you really need every item of clothing to be organic?

If you looked in your wardrobe most of your clothes would be made from cotton, which is fine but when it comes to your baby it’s important to remember that their skin is thinner, more tender and easily absorbs chemicals. As cotton is one of the most heavily chemically treated crops in the world you can’t be sure that non-organic cotton baby clothes are pesticide free. Johnson and Johnson states on their website, “A baby’s skin is thinner, more fragile and less oily than an adult’s. A baby’s skin also produces less melanin, the substance that helps protect against sunburn. It’s less resistant to bacteria and harmful substances in the environment, especially if it’s irritated. Babies also sweat less efficiently than the rest of us, so it’s harder for them to maintain their inner body temperature.” This means that babies are at greater risk for pesticide-related health problems than adults.

Organic clothing uses cotton that is not farmed in the conventional ways. Pesticides are not used; rather, other safer methods are used to produce the crops, such as crop rotation, physical removal of weeds instead of use of herbicides, hand hoeing, using beneficial insects to counteract the bad and many more. Therefore, workers have better working conditions, water quality is not compromised by run-off, and strong healthy soil is built. The end product is a cotton fabric that is toxin free.

As you read this I can hear you thinking ‘but isn’t that going to be really expensive’… Unfortunately, untreated clothes do come with a higher price tag so we suggest a savvy money saving option – splurge on the items of clothes that your baby will be wearing close to its skin and for other items such as jackets, cardigans and other outer layers it’s fine to go non-organic.

Organic cotton also has other perks besides being toxin free. It is safer, sturdier and it feels great! Organic clothing may be more expensive when you first buy it, but when compared to the cheaper cotton product it gives you your money’s worth. Conventionally produced cotton material lasts 10-20 washes before it starts to break down. An organic cotton material lasts for 100 washes or more before it begins to wear down. This is because the cotton fibers in conventionally produced cotton take so much abuse in production because it goes through scouring, bleaching, dying, softeners, formaldehyde spray, and flame and soil retardants before it is even shipped to be cut for patterns.

The best materials to keep a look out for are untreated, organic cotton, wool, linen, soy and bamboo. MORI have a fantastic range of products that are all organic cotton or bamboo – check out the range!

For more information on organic baby products, leading a healthy lifestyle, parenting advice & other environmentally friends brands, head to Nurture With Nature!

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