NATIVE COLOUR COTTON PROJECT

PERU

•COMMENCED IN 1984 TO DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TO SUPPORT

INDIGENOUS FARMERS AND TRADITIONAL ARTISANS

•15000 FARDMERS CULTIVATE COLOURED COTTON

•50000 WOMEN INVOLVED IN TRADITIONAL HAND SPINNING AND

HAND WEAVING•COLOURED COTTON IS PRODUCED WITHOUT THE USE OF SYNTHETIC

FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES•COTTON PLANT GROWS UP TO 5

METERS HIGHYIELD 10 KG PER PLANT

•REMARKABLY RESISTANT TO PEST AND DISEASES

•THRIVES IN MARGINAL SOILS WITH LITTLE OR NO RAIN FALL

PRE-HISPANIC GRAVE in the Chancay Valley of Peru is heaped with naturally colored cotton bolls.  The ancient people of this coastal area filled the body of the deceased with the cotton, which would absorb the bodily fluids, thereby aiding in the process of mummification.  The arid sands of the region preserved the cotton (which was removed from the body when this grave was looted.)

SIX PRINCIPLE COLOUR

VARIETIES

CREAM

Pista green

MEDIUM BROWN

REDDISH BROWN

CHOCOLATE BROWN

MAUVE

Brown verities possess anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties

COFFEE FILTERS MADE FROM CERTIFIED ORGANIC COLOURED COTTON FREE FROM

PESTIFCIDES, BLEACHES ANDSYNTHETIC COLOURS

Natural coloured yarns and fabrics are certified by SKAL, Dutch certifying agency

PERUVIAN TAPESTRY from A.D. 1000 depicts a cotton plant complete with roots, leaves, stems, flowers and ripening cotton bolls spilling forth with naturally pigmented cotton

Four species of cotton have different lint lengths.

COTTON HARVESTING is done by hand in Peru

Women then sort the cotton, also by hand, for color and quality.

Traditional spinning bowl

LINT FIBER greatly enlarged reveals the natural twist   The dark masses impart the natural color.

Coloured cotton bolls are hand picked

Small quantity is used for craft production and domestic consumption in rural market.

Large quantity is consumed in uraban market as

textile products

Medical remedy for over fifty somatic and psychosomatic disorders

Colour cotton cultivation by traditional farmers is officially protected

Large number of traditional farmers are immensely benefited

No patents are held on native colored cotton, respecting and promoting the crop

protection rights of the indigenous   people of Peru.

Today Indian descendants of ancient Peruvian cultures still harvest, gin and spin by hand the natural colored cottons of Peru.

Slivers of coloured cotton

Naturally coloured yarn for Kniting and Weaving

Coloured cotton fabrics

COTTON CLOTHES in naturally occurring colors are produced in Peru

Sally Fox was introduced to colored cotton while

working for a cotton breeder, whose focus was

developing pest-resistant strains of cotton.

The peoples of Central and South America had spun

these strains for centuries, but the fiber qualities were

not sufficient for modern machine spinning.

Here was Sally Fox’s opportunity to combine her

concern for the environment,

work in her field of entomology,

and practice her favorite pastime, spinning and weaving

Sally Fox in 1982 took on the challenge of improving an ancient agricultural art.

Fox successfully bred and marketed varieties of naturally coloured cotton she calls FoxFiber ®.

Today, Sally Fox designs fabrics with her cotton and continues research.

Fox has received a patent and three Plant Variety Protection Certificates for her naturally colored cottons which, in addition to browns, she now grows in reds and greens.

Her invention has been so popular it has sprouted two successful companies -- Vreseis, Ltd. and Natural Cotton Colours, both operating in Arizona.

Natural qualities found in Fox Fibre:Furnish lasting color; repeated washings intensify colors bringing out the warm and rich color tones

Enable our cottons to be spun from 100% solid color

to any percentage of color blends. Blends of Fox Fibre colors (with each other or with white) can

create all of the color shades within the beige, khaki, brown, red brown, dark brown, and green color

spectrums

Provide a fire retardant tendency

Eliminate the need for bleaches, dyes, & other costly processes during textile and product manufacturing

Sally Fox is associted with Athena Mills Arizona

Athena Mills is recognized as a leader for two environmentally descriptive trademarks - Colorganic® and Colour-By-Nature®.

Both marks ensure the final product's color is from naturally colored cotton.

Colorganic additionally ensures certified organic growing practices for all of the cotton fibers in the final product.

Fox Fibre offers consumers an ecological alternative in cotton: today's purchase for tomorrow's environment

ECO LABELS

Eco-labels are product labels that

inform consumers about the environmental impact of a

product. They encourage producers to switch to environmentally sound production

process methods (PPMs) for advantage in the marketplace. Eco-labels allow producers to

differentiate their products from products that are less

environmentally friendly and

thus to reach environmentally conscious consumers. 

ECO LABEL CRITERIA

ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLINESS OF THE ENTIRE LIFE CYCLE OF THE PRODUCT

CRADLE TO GRAVE ASSESSMENT

1. Production of raw materials

2. Production of the end product

3. Packaging and transport of raw

materials and the finished product

4. Use of the product by companies and

consumers

5. Disposal of the product

e.g. assessment of a T-shirt starts in the

cotton field and ends in the incineration

plant.

ECO LABEL CRITERIA

•As little use as possible of chemical substances harmful to the environment

•No or very few heavy metals in the product

•Energy conservation during production and use

•The lowest possible amounts of harmful

substances in wastewater

•Requirements which ensure that the product works well and will last long

Opportunities for recycling/reuse

•The product should be as unproblematic as

possible in terms of waste

POTENTIALLY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES

pH

Formaldehyde

Heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni,

Hg)

Pesticides Chlorinated phenols

Dyestuffs (specific classifications)

Chlorinated organic carriers

Boicidal finishes

Flame retardent finishes

Colour fastness

Emission of volatiles

Odours

Republic of China–TaiwanGreen Mark

Thailand (Thai Green Label

Korea Environmental

Labelling

Japan Eco Mark

India Eco MarkAustralia/New Zealand Environmental ChoiceEuropean Union Eco-label “Flower”

scheme

Nordic Countries (Nordic Swan )

Austrian Eco-label

Croatia (Environmental Label)

Netherland Ecolabel Foundation