So I’ve found the perfect bamboo T-shirt: eco-friendly, fairly made, quite affordable, with a perfect fit. I even have my color and size picked out.
But I’m not buying one — yet. Read on –
First, here’s why Tees For Change’s Bamboo Raglan Sleeve Tee’s perfect. Made of a 70% bamboo, 30% organic cotton blend under fair trade conditions in Turkey, these tees are soft and light — perfect for summer — and have raw edges to go with its modern cut.
Tees For Change as a whole’s a very green company which not only plants a tree via American Forests’ Global Releaf for every shirt sold, but also donates T-shirts to a variety of events and causes, including American Cancer Society Relay for Life and New Orleans Green Project. In addition to bamboo-cotton blend T-shirts, Tees for Change also makes 100% organic cotton T-shirts and tanks — which are made sweatshop-free in the US!
Even better, the shirts are much more affordable than most eco-friendly fashions. Tank tops go for $28; T-shirts for $32. I have my heart set on the eggplant bamboo raglan sleeve tee — especially because it matches this pair of purple plaid pants I have –
So why haven’t I bought the shirt yet? My problem is the slogans. The eggplant tee has “practice kindness” emblazoned in white letters across the chest. And while I’m all for people practicing kindness, I find such messaging too — didactic.
Unfortunately for me, these instructive messages seem to be part of the “point” of Tees For Change. Andreea Ayers, the woman who started the company, apparently got started by making herself a T-shirt with the slogan “Be Courageous” across the front, as a personal response to those who didn’t support her home birthing plans for her first child. Thus, Tees for Change’s tagline is “sustainable tees on a mission.” Buy a shirt, and you have to wear a “mission” across your chest.
Mind you — the slogans ARE nice affirmations. But messages like “live mindfully” or “today matters” are ideas I’d rather think or perhaps speak about than wear emblazoned across my chest. I could see wearing the shirt with the “practice yoga” message to, say, yoga class — but that’s ’bout it for me.
But maybe that’s just me…. Other bloggers certainly think otherwise! Valerie of Zoë b Organic Weekly says the statements “are proof that you can look good, do good, and feel good, all at the same time.” And Lorie Sigua of Poise says the shirts “reinforce your conviction to change your outlook for the better and encourage you to actualize your existence to the fullest.”
How do you feel about such messages on your T-shirts? Do you wear affirmations on your chest?
Regardless of the affirmations, Tees For Change’s business model’s certainly inspiring in and of itself. You can hear Andreea Ayers chat about her eco-business in a podcast on Startup Story Radio.
Images from Tees For Change
[crossposted on BlogHer]
I wear my affirmations on my body, but in a more traditional sense. On my right shin there is a bump that has steadily decreased in size in the last 5 weeks. It says “get CRAZY”, in the language of calcification. I know I got it on the bike ride CRANK MOB, but I don’t know how. I have some scars that say “be careful”.
My chest probably says “neglect those things that aren’t that important”, or more plainly “pushups = LAME”, and my legs counter with “mobility matters”. Today, though only I can hear it, they are also screaming the mathematical identity “soccer + biking = FUN + soreness”
(and then I look down and see that my t-shirt features a picture of a bike and explains “We are traffic.”)
Comment by Alex Thompson — June 28, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
I love my ‘Seek Balance” Tee for Change…wear it all of the time! Not to mention that they make great gifts!
(BTW, it was great meeting you tonight @ Paul & Zan’s.) Hope to see you again soon! xo~
Comment by Luna-See — June 28, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
I prefer my T-shirts plain.
Comment by Kathryn — June 29, 2008 @ 9:06 am
The fact that they’re made of bamboo and organic cotton under fair trade conditions is definitely an action taken in the right direction!
Sadly, around where I live, there’s more Hollister than organic cotton (am I the only one who thinks this is warped??), so I always check out any environmentally friendly clothing if I hear about it, online or in a store on land.
But.. I mean, everybody wears things that say “Be Kind”. Not everybody actually practices kindness. I like the Seek Balance one better; you don’t see that everywhere, and I make it a point not to look like every other cookie-cutter person out there.
Comment by Gracie — June 29, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
I don’t mind the slogans–I think they’re kind of nice. However, I don’t necessarily want to wear a slogan t-shirt every day. It would be nice if there were some non-printed options.
ADQ
Comment by The Q — June 29, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
You should come down to Orange County and review The Road Less Traveled, an AWESOME eco-store!
Comment by fan — June 30, 2008 @ 8:38 am
Hey, didacticism is the new black.
Am I missing something, or do you not have a choice of color/slogan? If you want kelly green, you have to “breathe deeply;” if you “choose happiness,” then by default you have to “choose midnight blue.”
Comment by eric — June 30, 2008 @ 9:52 am
Do they have one that says “Print Sparingly?”
Comment by Will Campbell — June 30, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Having checked the meaning of diadactic - I agree.
If it’s about how the tee’s came to be they speak to that. The hand print of the sewer would work for me, or something that is less easy to write off - like Turkish bamboo.
Comment by Alistair Williamson — June 30, 2008 @ 9:43 pm
Just to be clear, I’m not against personal slogans (or colors) — I just feel weird about wearing it publicly, b/c it feels a bit like I’m telling others what to do. For the most part, the messages on these T-shirts ARE commands, after all…. Imperative sentences, I think is what we called them in jr high….
But since many people seem cool with the messaging, maybe I should buy a shirt with the slogan “read my blog, dammit” :P
Comment by Siel — June 30, 2008 @ 11:15 pm
i have no particular issue with slogan-bearing clothes, but i do find i don’t wear them very often because when i’m in the mood for the cut/color of shirt, i’m not always in the mood for what it says and vice-versa. ultimately, if i’m never going to use it, it’s not a terribly eco purchase.
Comment by mb — July 1, 2008 @ 4:43 am
great idea about “read my blog” and maybe you could write and ask if their are custom shirt options.
my advice to you: turn the shirt inside out! write on it yourself, sew something else on or just leave it plain!
Comment by emily — July 1, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
I like the angst of a shirt which reads “Read my blog, dammit!” but doesn’t specify the URL.
Comment by Alex Thompson — July 1, 2008 @ 1:52 pm