By Kristina Courtnage

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — When visitors to the Bellingham Farmers Market stroll between booths of local produce and handmade crafts on Saturday mornings, they eventually come to Texture Clothing. Tucked into the northwest corner of the market, a patchwork of colorful material scraps hang like flags, attracting the attention of passersby.

As visitors explore the Texture Clothing booth, they find a rainbow of colorful skirts, blouses and even underwear — all made by owner Teresa Remple using a blend of organic cotton and hemp. Texture’s motto, "Clothing with a Conscience," reflects the growing number of people considering the impact their clothing purchases have on the environment. According to a survey by NPD Group, the number of people interested in buying organic fashion products increased from 6 percent in 2004 to 18 percent in 2006.

There are a number of options appearing for this emerging market. Designers are using materials such as hemp, organic cotton and natural bamboo, which are more sustainable than synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon, and conventional cotton, which is grown using large amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Remple, who began her business six years ago, said she had 25 percent growth in sales from 2005 to 2006. “We just get more people coming out,” she said. “People like that it’s locally made clothing.”

Conventionally grown cotton uses about 25 percent of the insecticides and more than 10 percent of the pesticides used in the world. In 1996, Patagonia converted its entire line of cotton clothing to organic with help from Organic Exchange, a nonprofit organization committed to expanding organic agriculture, with a specific focus on increasing the production and use of organically grown fibers such as cotton.

Since then, sustainability has become more than a niche market. Retailers have responded to increased demand by stocking more organic items. Stores such as Urban Outfitters and Wal-Mart have jumped on the organic clothing bandwagon. Sales of nonfood organic items, such as clothing and linens, jumped to $160 million in 2005 from $85 million in 2003, according to the latest data available by the Organic Trade Association.

Photo by Kristina Courtnage
Molly Purdin of Bellingham shows off a craft item she bought at the Bellingham Farmers Market.

While Remple worries about a supply shortage for small retailers because of the interest large companies have taken in organic cotton, she believes the interest has also encouraged more farms to begin growing organic cotton. “It seems to me that there must be more and more farms switching because it’s more available,” she said.

Molly Purdin lives up the street from the Farmers Market and visits regularly. The Western Washington University industrial design student is a vegan and makes a point of not buying products that involve harmful processes for animals. "That kind of trickles down to what pesticides are used to protect this cotton while it’s growing and how is that affecting animals," she says.