Why We Chose Organic Cotton & Mineral Pigments?

When I set out to create Tiny Advocates, it was very important to me to select a fabric made from natural and organic fiber. So, I chose to use 100% GOTS certified organic cotton in our production (GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard which means “World Standard for Organic Textiles.” This guarantees that a fabric comes from organic fibres, ensuring its quality and sustainability).  The reason being organic cotton fiber is extracted from natural seeds without using any pesticides or chemicals to grow cotton. Organically grown cotton keeps the soil healthier, requires way less water to grow, and supports small farmers. As a result, it does not pollute our lakes, rivers and drinking water.

However, during this process of selecting fabrics and looking at dyes, I learned that having organically grown cotton is not enough to avoid polluting our planet.  Another big contributing factor to the problem are synthetic dyes that are used to create variety of colours we so adore.

To avoid adding to this problem I decided to explore other options. I wanted to use dyes that are safer for our tiny humans, people who make our clothes, and our planet. That’s how I landed on natural inorganic mineral pigments which we are using for our first collection. This process is more extensive, but mineral pigments are much kinder to our tiny humans’ skin and our planet.  Inorganic pigments are extracted from inorganic compounds and salts such as metallic oxides, ochres, and earths. They offer a range of rich and vibrant colours. For example, ochre pigments, derived from clay and iron oxide, produce a range of colors from yellow to orange to reddish-brown. Ultramarine, which is made from mineral lapis lazuli, is used to create blues.

Using mineral pigments to create beautiful colours is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it is also environmentally friendly. And unlike synthetic dyes, mineral pigments are derived from natural sources and do not contain harmful chemicals. They produce beautiful and unique results.

It is very important to me to work with materials that produce minimum negative impact on our planet and I want this to reflect in every step of the process.

We hope you enjoy the beautiful and breathable organic cotton waffle fabric and the variety of colors we selected for our first collection.