Lighten Your Carbon Footprint

My husband has a problem. His feet smell like they…well like they are rotting. Now, I know this isn’t happening but boy o’ boy the odor sure makes me take a step back. He has always had this issue because his feet sweat so much. Add that together with the fact that he has to wear his work boots almost 18 hours a day when he is working and… well, you get the picture or I should say the smell.

We have tried a multitude of remedies for this but to no avail, other than to go barefoot. Since that is not possible, I know that there must be another solution. Recently, I came across some bamboo socks and I thought I would give them a try. After all, bamboo acts like a charcoal filter in clothing and footwear so what have I got to lose.

As it turns out, what I have to lose is exactly what I wanted to lose in the first place… the odour. No more smelly feet in our house. Everyone is wearing bamboo socks from now on; either that or bare feet. Boy, talk about eco-friendly footwear, the air around here is much fresher now.

Yoga is a workout for the body, mind and spirit. It helps us to become more flexible in all these areas. However, we most often relate a yoga workout to the physical practice. With that in mind we are often very selective in what we choose to wear into the yoga studio. We look for clothes that are loose, free flowing and comfortable (warm or cool depending on our body’s tendencies). We also look for fabrics that breathe and wick away moisture helping us to maintain our cool and calm composure as we twist, stretch and bend.

As a yogi and a yoga teacher I reccommend staying as close to nature as we can with our clothing choices while practicing non-violence or non-harming (one of the yamas) to the environment. What I have found that works well for me is bamboo clothing for yoga. The styles are flattering to the body and the fabric is soft and fresh to the skin. The many properties of bamboo make it perfect for your yoga practice whether it be a Gentle Hatha class or a Vigorous Astanga class.

I support the campaign in preserving mother earth. I do believe that for this one to work, everyone should do their own share. Most of you would surely ask, how? Well, there’s so many ways to contribute in caring for the earth’s preservation. Just by practicing proper waste segregation in our own homes is sure to produce great results.

You don’t need to be an environmental activist to show that you truly care for the environment, in fact, just by patronizing organic products that are made of natural materials like an organic clothing or recyclable bags, or maybe consuming organic foods instead of the ones that were mass produced with the use of fertilizers and chemicals which are very harmful to nature. Best of all, caring for mother earth is not just a choice…it’s a commitment.

In case there are some folks out there that just aren’t sure what eco-friendly clothing is, I thought I would give you some tips.

Firstly, eco-friendly is anything that is not harmful to the environment. When it comes to qualifying clothing as eco-friendly we consider the fibers, the growing habit(sustainability), the farming, the processing, the dyes, the construction and sometimes the shipping. Some of the most eco-friendly fibers my be processed with harsh environmentally damaging chemicals rendering them less eco-friendly.

One of the most eco-friendly fibers is hemp. Hemp is a highly renewable resource with a process that is safe for the environment.

100% organically grown cotton is an eco-friendly fiber that maintains it’s status when the processing avoids bleaching and uses natural vegetable dyes. Locally farmed and manufactured 100% organic cotton is more eco-friendly than imported 100% organic cotton.

Organic bamboo another eco-friendly fiber gets it’s status mostly by the fact that it is highly sustainably, very fast growing and has many properties desirable in clothing, however some bamboo today is still processed in non earth-friendly ways using toxic chemicals.

Recycled polyester is considered eco-friendly because it re-uses plastic water bottles as a portion of the material for the fibers, saving the earth from this ecological danger. Since the amount of these empty used bottles is staggering this fabric could really help clean up the environment.

Soy fabric is made from the waste product in the production of tofu. These waste soy-proteins are spun into fibers and turned into fabric like other yarns. Once again this is a fiber that is very sustainable and eco-friendly. It is said to be so biodegradable that when the garment is worn out you can just throw it into your home compost pile and it will disappear in about 28 days.

The above fibers are the most common eco-friendly ones to date but with growing technology and experimentation more fibers are discovered all the time. Here are some new ones to look for in the coming months or years…seacell(seaweed) , Lenpur(corn), and Stingplus Nettle fabric (stinging nettle).

Bamboo clothing is either 100% bamboo or blended with cotton or Lycra for a silky soft feeling. Since bamboo natural clothing feels so gentle on the skin, it stands to reason that it would benefit from gentle washing as well. Check the garment label for specific instructions.

It is recommended that bamboo clothing is washed in cold water with like colors on the gentle or delicate cycle, using a minimal amount of soap. Because bamboo has a fiber that provides a natural antifungal agent, it will keep your clothes from picking up unwanted germs, bacteria, or odors. Avoid bleaching or using fabric softener on your bamboo clothing. Line or air drying is recommended. Bamboo clothing can be dried on the cool setting, but it may shrink. Never dry bamboo clothing on the warm or hot dryer setting. It can be ironed with care, using a dry iron setting no higher than “low”. If you steam iron bamboo clothing, rings can form in the garment that cannot be washed out.