What's Green in Brum?

Clothing, paper, shopping bags – ECO-MERCH print on all sorts of eco-friendly materials, right here in Brum…

Information supplied by Sam Foggan – much more at www.eco-merch.com, or phone 0121 773 3354

“I run a little eco screen print shop out of the Custard Factory. I only use organic and sustainable textiles and other materials and have worked out a way to reclaim screens without the use of any solvents, usually screen cleaning solvents and screen degreasing solvents are required to make the whole process quicker and easier. The inks I use are solvent-free and water-based too.

“Climate change is a big issue as it will effect everyone, we have low carbon t-shirts that we use which were produced using wind and solar power only, and have up to a 90% reduction in C02 compared to your average t-shirt, which help. I think, for me, there is an extremely important issue that everyone is involved in. Everybody owns and/or has bought something made from cotton. The vast majority of people in this country will have heard the phrase sweatshop and know what it refers to. Only last night there was a panorama programme about Primark and its use of child labour and sweatshops (although without there knowledge it would seem) but what most people don’t know, and what this and every other programme I have seen about the garment industry fails to touch upon is the great pressure the industry has placed on the cotton farmers and the dangerous conditions they work in.

“Agricultural pesticides kill tens of thousands of farmers and their families every year through exposure during application, poisoning of water supplies or food stocks. A further 3 million+ have recorded medical conditions ranging from skin conditions to miscarriages and infertility. A large percentage of these are from cotton farming due to the relative toxicity of the chemicals used. They don’t just affect the farmer’s health, the soil looses its fertility, biodiversity in the surrounding eco-system and water table is killed off and the farmers accrue large debts from buying in these chemicals. The more chemicals that are used the less able the land is to grow the crop, the less able the land is to grow the crop, the more chemicals are used, the more chemicals that are used, the bigger the farmer’s debt burden, the bigger the yield they require and the more chemicals the need to use. If the crop fails, the debts don’t go away.

“The whole cycle was started by cotton farming subsidies in the US and Europe. This artificially drove down world wide cotton prices meaning third world produces could no longer compete without chemical assistance to drive up yields. The lower prices stoked the throw away fashion culture of the west increasing demand for the cheap cotton products and therefore cheaper cotton.

“Organic cotton is often overlooked with fair trade being seen as the answer to the problems in the cotton industry. Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers. Instead the land and natural fertilisers provide all the nutrients required. Soil fertility can be encouraged by inter-cropping and natural predators can be encouraged which will deal with the cotton pests. In some cases, higher yields are reported, but even if yields are significantly lower, this is always out weighed by the benefits farmers experience from the massively reduced inputs required and therefore substancially reduced debts. Organic cotton also encourages and empowers women within the communities to farm as they are usually discouraged due to the health and fertility implications of conventional cotton farming.”

To contact Eco-Merch, go to www.eco-merch.com or phone 0121 773 3354