ECO-FRIENDLY

What is the Organic process?

Step

Organic

Seed Preparation

  • Uses untreated seeds
  • Never uses GMO seeds

Soil & Water

  • Builds strong soil through crop rotation
  • Retains water more efficiently because of increased organic matter in the soil

Weed Control

  • Physical removal rather than chemical destruction
  • Controls weeds through cultivation and hand hoeing

Pest Control

  • Maintains a balance between "pests" and their natural predators through healthy soil
  • Uses beneficial insects, biological and cultural practices to control pests
  • May use trap crops, planted to lure insects away from the cotton

Harvesting

  • Relies mostly on the seasonal freeze for defoliation
  • May stimulate defoliation through water management

Organic Cotton Certification

  • USDA approved agent issues Organic cotton certification
  • Anvil uses organic cotton which is certified through a number of different government approved agents. Among the certifiers are the TDA (Texas Department of Agriculture)

Gin, Spinning, Knitting & Weaving

  • Machinery is cleaned before use to avoid any contamination

Dyeing & Finishing

  • Only chemicals and materials that meet organic processing standards are used.
  • Anvil uses products which conform to ETAD agreement standards and are free of environmentally unfriendly products. ETAD (Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigment Manufactures)

Cutting & Sewing

  • Organic fabric is kept separate, clearly identified and tracked throughout the cutting and sewing process.
  • Anvil is committed to leadership in socially responsible manufacturing practices.
  • Our Organic Cotton sewing facility is certified by and maintains full compliance with global WRAP production principles. "WRAP" (Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production)

Why are organic products more costly?

They are more costly to manufacture because:

  • Limited availability of 100% organic cotton
  • Higher cost to grow & harvest (more labor intensive)
  • Smaller quantities being processed into yarn (ginning, spinning)
  • Increased manufacturing costs of line shut downs and cleaning, plus the costs of tracking the products throughout the manufacturing process and the documentation required for certification of the 100% organic claim

Resources:

Organic Trade Association: A not-for-profit group that promotes/protects the overall organic trade, focuses on food and other organic products. www.ota.com

  • The OTA is one of the four members of GOTS (International working group on Global Organic Textile Standards); the other members are the Soil Association (England), International Association Natural Textile Industry (INV) (Germany), and Japan Organic Cotton Association (JOCA). http://www.global-standard.org/
  • GOTS has approved the first international certification body for organic cotton: the Institute for Marketecology (IMO), located in Switzerland. www.imo.ch

Organic Exchange: A not-for-profit group that promotes organic agriculture, with specific focus on fibers such as cotton www.organicexchange.org

Where can I get AnvilOrganic® products?

AnvilOrganic® products are available from a variety of distributors. You can view our Distributor List here .

Also feel free to use our Product Locator tool here or use our Distributor Locator here.

Do you have any documentation that explains the AnvilOrganic® line?

Yes, we have created a fact sheet that provides you with all the essential details about our AnvilOrganic® line. Click here to get the fact sheet.

ANVIL HEADQUARTERS

Anvil Knitwear, Inc.
521 Fifth Avenue,
9th Floor
New York, NY 10175
USA

(800) 223-0332 Toll-free
(212) 476-0300 Local
(212) 808-4790 Fax

info@anvilknitwear.com

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Corporate Responsibilty

Anvil releases its 2011 CSR Progress Report.. Consumers and educators can also visit www.anvilcsr.com for more information about Anvil's Responsibility Platform.

T-shirts with something to say? Check out how Anvil is using cool, new technology to bring our products to life and we can help you can do the same. Shirt Scan.

Experience the journey of your t-shirt from cotton farm to textile mill to you, while learning about the environmental impact, and how to minimize your carbon footprint with our interactive TrackMyT site.