Power to the Pants!

We all wear pants, so why not wear an environmentaly friendly pair? This company, "Pants for Poverty", has been producing fairtrade, organic, sweatshop free underpants for four years now! They are grown and sewn in India and are beautiful from "grain to groin." They work with a company in India called Zameen Organic, which is the world’s first farmer-owned marketing company for Fairtrade and organic cotton. If you are interesting in joining this pants revolution, visit the link below, or stop by Salts Organic to pick up a pair!

Learn more about Pants to Poverty here.

Dress For you Body Type. 5 Tips for a Flattering you.

Whenever I am designing a new item I like to take into account what its going to do for the person that puts it on. We all have had an item that hugs us in all the wrong places and makes us feel like we are on the way to Frumpville. Then we have also had the great luck in finding a piece that shows off our best and highlights what makes us beautiful. Those are the items that we keep for years and wear until there is nothing left to them. My favorite moment is when I manage to come up with something that looks great and flatters all the right places on a lot of different women.

The most common complaint that I get from women is that clothing hugs their tummies and backs. Another concern of course is the thigh area. I have compiled some of my best advice for diverting attention (yours mostly, no one else thinks much about your tummy and thighs by the way) away from the areas you don't totally love into areas that you adore.

1. Determine your best feature and build your look around it. Love your eye color? Compliment it with color and tone. A great tip is to find a color wheel and then find the color of you eyes. Bring it out by finding the color on the opposite side and wearing that. For example orange colors bring out blue eyes. Wearing colors that match your eyes also tend to bring them out more.

2. Style lines, Style lines, Style lines. A well placed style line is a woman's best friend. Want to whittle your waist? Grab an item with an hour glass style line on the front. Slim your thighs? Look for length wise lines down the legs of your bottoms. Avoid cargo pockets on pants if you want to slim down your legs. Our classic Candy hoodie (shown above on Leah Oke) in Organic Cotton and hemp has a great cut, toning your midsection with out all those boring sit-ups.

3. Color and Darks. Wear your dark colors on area that you want to minimize and lighter brighter colors on areas you want to draw attention to. Large on top and small on bottom? Pair a black top with a bright colored bottom. This will balance your figure more evenly.

4. Ruching is the bomb. Runching is deep gathers on a garment used to create folds. They are great for covering bumpy areas that you want to keep to yourself. Gathering also works great to add volume if your very petite. Our Wave Check EcoFriendly Hoodie has Ruching along the front with a waist whittling style line to give you a double whammy of flattering effects. Check out our Zen Jacket if you want to add some bulk to your figure.

5. Draw the attention of your admirers where you want it to go. This works terrifically in all areas of your life. The obvious example if the mighty bare cleavage but there are subtler and classier ways to pull the technique off. Use brighter colors and interesting details to draw admiring glances where you want them. Try a great necklace to enhance your beautiful neck or a hair pin to draw attention to your luxurious mane. Grab some great jeans if you like your bottom half better than your top and wear a plain dark shirt minimize your top. Then put on a smile to show off your pretty soul.

Hope these tips help you to look and feel your best. If you want some more tips come stop by Salts Clothing at 2052 Otter Point Road in Beautiful Sooke, BC on Vancouver Island and speak to one of our stylists. Of course your can always shop for Salts Organic Clothing online.

With Love,
Jenny

Designer, Salts

Organic and Sustainable EcoFashion FAQ! Awnsers to your important Eco-Fashion Quesions.

We get a lot of questions about sustainable clothing and Eco Fashion through our website and I wanted to take a moment to answer a few of the most frequent Eco Clothing questions here.

#1. Whats so terrible about normal fabrics? Why switch to Eco Friendly Textiles?

Regular Cotton uses a lot of pesticides and herbicides which poison the ocean, near by streams and the land in general. When we use organic cotton we don't support the use of chemicals in crop production. Other textiles like polyester are made from petroleum which is not sustainable to produce or to manufacture into fabric. The resulting process if left unchecked can be extremely detrimental to the planet and produces an excess amount of greenhouse gases. Such fabrics also poison people, your skin is your biggest organ and takes in everything that you put on it. Making the switch to healthier, chemical free fabrics is great start in protecting you health as well. Regular crop production is also known to poison local streams and water supply for the people living near by, this is usually done in 3rd world countries where the locals can't just run down to the store for some bottled water and are left with little options but to drink up.

Salts Organic Clothing searches out the best fabrics available in order to protect the planet and others from the harm that these chemicals can cause.

#2. Where is Salts Organic Clothing made?

Salts is designed in a small Studio Boutique in lovely Sooke, BC. I design, chose the custom colors and make the first patterns. Once the design is to my liking I have the garments manufactured in a small Factory in Vancouver, BC. The Salts line is redesigned twice a year (once for Spring/ Summer and once for Fall/ Winter). I am adding a basics collection for Spring 09 which will complement our seasonal line.

We try our best to source fabrics and yarns from as close to our manufacturing in Vancouver as possible. We have many of our fabrics milled in Canada, use Canadian thread and are always seeking the best in sustainable sources for our clothing.

#3. Are you going to do More Men's clothing soon?

I have a new men's shirt coming out for Fall 08 and planning on adding 4 pcs to the men's line for Spring 09. I am open to suggestions on what the eco-Friendly men shoppers out there would like to see for them. I do get a lot of men approaching me at markets asking about the men's stuff. Its definitely a section of the line that will grow over time.

#4. Where can I buy Salts Organic Clothing and other Eco Friendly lines?

The best way is to come out to our shop on beautiful Vancouver Island, BCand enjoy our great selection of Men's, Women's and Children's eco-friendly clothing and eco-Friendly shoes. Another good way is to try out our secure online store. You can also check the list of stores that sell Salts and find a location near you. All of the great stores that we sell to also carry other terrific sustainable clothing lines.

#5. Where do you ship too? I live in Europe, Australia, Japan, etc...?

Our Eco Friendly Online store is set up to ship for free anywhere in Canada (there is a 6.50 charge for COD shipping, shipping for credit card made payments is free). Costs for shipping to the United States are minimal and range from $12 -$20 depending on how far away from Vancouver Island you are. Please email me for a direct quote before you order or ask for one in the comments section when you are placing your order. For International orders we can get you a quote at the time of ordering, the cost depends on your country and the size of your order. We recommend getting a few friends together to place a larger order to help with overseas shipping costs and also to cut down on the environmental footprint of shipping overseas.

#6. How do I get updates on Salts Organic Clothing and learn more about Sustainable Fashion?

The best way to get updates on Salts is to join the newsletter. You can find the sign up box on the first page of our website at www.SaltsOrganic.com
The news letter gives you the latest on Eco Fashion and Eco Products as well as informs you about the new happenings in the Sustainable Clothing world of Salts. Some great sites to learn about sustainability and the Eco Friendly life style in general are treehugger.com and The Eco Friendly Way of Life Blog.

#7. I want to learn more about eco fabrics and Eco Friendly Clothing? Do you have more info?

Take a gander at some of our older blog posts, I always write on new eco-friendly information as I find it. You can check the articles on the Eco Friendly Lifestyle posted on our website as well.

Dress Pure.
Do Good.

Salts.

Organic Hemp Cookie Recipe!

I needed to make some delicious cookies for the one Year Anniversary party at our store! Thats right the Salts Studio Boutique home of Organic Clothing delights is now one year old! Our full service boutique is beautiful Sooke, BC features clothing in sustainable fabrics for Men, Ladies and Children as well as little eco-friendly goodies and gifts. Salts Boutique has a large selection of handmade jewelery, art and accessories made by local Vancouver Island Artisans. We are located at 2052 Otter Point Road. While you are here be sure to check out the Little Vienna Bakery down the road, they have recently switched to Organic Flour in some of their breads. They have the best soups on Vancouver Island. If you make the trip up to Sooke you will be glad you did, our clothing store features a verity of hemp, organic cotton, soy and bamboo products as well as some recycled clothing. Fun!

So heres the recipe....Me likes the hemp!

Salts Hemp-y Almond-y Cookies

- 1 cup whole-wheat organic pastry flour (if you can find it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons unrefined sugar or cane crystals (Level Ground Trading has a nice sugar)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons organic almond or cashew or peanut if you prefer...butter
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 teaspoon blackstrap molasses (VERY important ingredient)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (we get ours from our Mexican Grandma)
- 1/3 cup vanilla hemp milk (Manitoba Harvest is great)

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).

In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar, and stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the 1/3 cup of almond butter with the maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, and vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the dry, stir through, and as it is coming together, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of almond butter leaving chunky bits of almond butter for delicious surprise bites.

Place medium spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet greased or lined. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies are slightly crisp on the edges, but still soft in the middle. Let cool for about 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove cookies.

Makes 12 medium cookies

Add chocolate chips, raisins or nuts if the mood strikes you.

Enjoy.

Dress Pure.
Salts

Photo above is us at the Clothing Store!

Clean Green! 5 Eco-Friendly tips for Cleaning...

Clean GREEN!

We all know it’s easy to pick up a super-cleaner and tackle household grime. But there are some age-old tricks that are a lot healthier and just as effective! We at Salts would like to encourage you to clean Green. We found a great article by Lisa Boushy at W Network with some tips to get the job done the eco-friendly way:

1. A simple and safe mixture of vinegar and water (half and half) poured into a refillable spray bottle will do wonders on anything from windows and glass to ceramic floors and counter-tops. Try adding a half-cup each of baking soda and borax to your mixture to tackle tougher spots.

2. Many liquid laundry can cause skin irritations and allergies. A better alternative is to use either bar soaps or eco-laundry disks. Disks soften the water, are hypoallergenic, reusable and economical in the long run (most last for hundreds of loads).

3. Hanging clothes outside whenever possible will save on energy costs. But if you really must use the dryer, try to skip the fabric softeners that are loaded with chemicals. Instead, throw in a ball of aluminum foil, which will help reduce static cling.

4. Forgo the latest trend in disposable cleaning wipes - they contribute to clogged landfills. Try organic cotton, hemp or lint-free micro-fiber cloths, which will help prevent those stubborn streaks. Micro-fibre cloths are especially good for the removal of grime on stoves, tubs and sinks - they won't scratch the surfaces.

5. Hemp-seed oil and beeswax are great non-toxic, pure and safe finishing oils that provide clear coatings as well as protect wood grains and painted surfaces. Both can be used for walls, decks, furniture, antiques and floors. They’re even safe for cutting boards and children’s wooden toys. Here’s a great homemade recipe you can use to polish your wooden floors:

• 1/8 cup hemp oil (olive or vegetable oil works too)
  1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vodka. Try grading some beeswax into the mix and voila — sparkling floors!

To read the full article by Lisa Boushy, www.wnetwork.com/articles/home_gardenT1.asp?id=1058

Much Love,

Salts

Spring Salts Organic Catalog....

Arriving in April! Here is our heaping helping of Sustainable Fashions! We used lots of Bamboo Rayon (for its awesome wear-ability it feels so good to wear) and organic cotton of course. We have been looking for some great new hemp materials but the search continues, let us know if you know of any great sources. This seasons sustainable clothing line is about Simplicity in life. Its inspired by the desire to scale back the busyness of life and have less that does more...

Hope you like comments and suggestions are always well loved.

Sincerely,
Salty J

What Makes Organic Clothing Organic? Information on Organic Cotton Certification.

Organic this and organic that is all the buzz these days, but what exactly makes clothing organic? Salts Organic Clothing is made with certified Organic Cotton, not regular cotton. Many Bamboo, Soy, Tencel and Hemp fabric blends are made with regular cotton, not organic cotton. Certified organic fabrics are certified by several governing bodies depending on where they are from. It all starts with the fiber that makes the organic fabric. Salts Organic fabrics are certified by the Control Union World Group formally called SKAL. Some state and governmental bodies also have their own certifying bodies that certify Organic Cotton from their area. Certification processes and procedures may vary depending on the certifying organization, but the underlying values are the same. The organization IFOAM, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement is currently in the process of Defining Organic Agriculture in less than 300 words that will encompass all the objectives of organic farming.

The CUWG or SKAL can certify the fiber or the yarn. All organic land used to grow organic cotton must be treated organically for 3 years in order to be certified. To be treated organically the field must not be sprayed with any pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. Crop rotation, manure fertilizer and other earth friendly farming techniques are used instead. Organic Cotton for organic clothing is now grown in 18 countries but still only fills .01% of the total cotton market in the world. According to 2001 statistics the largest producers of organic cotton was the United States, India, Turkey and Peru.

Simply put, organic clothing is made from fabrics that were made from yarns that were made from Fibers that were grown on certified organic fields. These fields are gentle on the environment which has advantages to humans and nature alike. Many small farming villages have faced health struggles due to chemical use on cotton fields. Nature can only dilute and disperse so much chemical until it will begin to affect us all. We will all begin to notice these chemicals it in our food and water supplies eventually. Buying Organic Clothing is one way that you can be gentle on the earth.

Sincerely,
Salts.