Taking the Mystery Out of Organic Cotton

There may be more going on behind your gingham curtains than you realize.

Photo by author.

A few years ago, I decided any future baby clothes I sewed would be made from organic cotton (except, of course, for the occasional scrumptious Liberty of London Tana Lawn extravaganza.) If organic bok choy was good for you, shouldn’t organic baby clothes be best for babies? Well, maybe…

I had sleuthed out arcane fabric for years and knew the widest selection of odd-ball textiles was now online. Organic cotton held true to this. There was zero to nil organic cotton in children’s prints at my local fabric shop, yet the internet proved a cornucopia of choices. Though the price was higher for organic cotton, sales yielded right-sized cuts for kids’ clothes. The material was well-made and came in cheery, if not downright humorous, prints. My heavy-weight Singer breezed through it and churned out bibs and dresses and little toddler camp shirts. All looked great and felt good to the touch.

Organic cotton scraps. Photo by author.

I noticed some selvages stamped with “GOT certified.” Mystified, I decided to sort out what the certification meant and what organic cotton was all about…