Saving the world one T-shirt at a time

Offering a solution to the environmental impact of our mass consumption is Me to We: [Responsible Style], a socially-conscious clothing company based in Toronto.
This unique online clothing manufacturer is particularly important during the holiday season, considering that people tend to forget about the impacts of their purchases as soon as Christmas nears.
"Our product line is domestically produced, sweatshop-free and made using eco-friendly fabrics," said Martine Mangion, Me to We Style's Account Manager. "Our product line consists of basic apparel: T-shirts, golf shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, yoga pants, Thai pants and is always expanding."
Not only does this clothing line produce limited ecological harm, the stylish designs are created by a group of talented artists. One of the designs that especially stands out in the clothing line is their Tree Tee logo, which also symbolically represents the companies underlying ideology.
"The Tree Tee is designed by Francheska Galloway-Davis," said Mangion. "Not only was the image created to attract people visually, it was intended to inspire thought and inquisition. Two trees growing together into a single entity, embodies the 'Me to We' philosophy which is the foundation of our organization."
This concept of changing our focus from the self to the community is even portrayed by their company name. The betterment of the community as a whole is a principal concern of Me to We Style.
"By manufacturing our clothing in sweatshop-free factories that pay adult workers a fair wage, we ensure that parents make enough to care for themselves and their children," said Mangion.
Shifting society's focus is no easy task, however. When the majority of businesses have put ethics on the back burner, lessening both costs and morals, it becomes difficult to compete with such a monster. However we are quickly realizing that a change is needed, before the already weakened state of the environment becomes worse, and the damage becomes irreversible.
"Me to We Style is driven by the belief that another way of doing business is not only possible - it is essential," said Mangion. "All of this will be made possible by people buying their new favourite T-shirt - a simple act with a tremendous impact."
Once people have come to realize the need for this shift, it is easier to participate then one realizes. This can be achieved by carrying out tasks that we do already; we only need to be more aware of who we are purchasing our products from.
To further help people realize the processes behind their clothing production, Me to We Style proudly communicates the manufacturing processes that their clothes undergo. Using organic cotton and bamboo, they are limiting their 'ecological footprint'.
"Organic cotton is good for farmers, consumers and the environment," said Mangion. "It is grown without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides or defoliants on land that has been free of these chemicals for at least three years."
The farmers instead choose to utilize more down to earth, old-fashioned methods.
"Instead of killing weeds with herbicides, organic farmers kill them with hoes; instead of killing pests with pesticides, organic farmers keep them off their crops with things like chili and garlic," said Mangion.
On top of caring for the Earth, changing mentalities and producing some good-looking clothes, Me to We Style refuse to be Scrooge-like capitalists. Instead they persistently donate half of their profits to their partner charity, Free the Children.
"By donating 50 per cent of our profits to Free The Children, we ensure that a better life is created for children and their families in rural and impoverished areas across the globe," says Mangion.
Me to We Style will not be content in simply helping the North American environment, but strives to improve our global situation, one person at a time.
"The idea behind Me to We Style is that by combining education with products that are accessible and desirable to the mainstream consumer, the general public will develop and act on their global social conscience," said Mangion. "In doing so, Me to We Style strives to offer consumers the opportunity to make intelligent purchasing decisions that will have a lasting positive impact on the world around them."
For more information, visit www.metowestyle.com.ORGANIC COTTON: JUST THE FACTS
It takes about one-third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers to grow enough non-organic cotton for just one T-shirt.
Non-organic cotton uses more insecticides than any other crop.
Each year, non-organic cotton producers around the world use nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides - that's more than 10 per cent of the world's pesticides and nearly 25 per cent of the world's insecticides.
Problems linked to pesticide use include: reduced soil fertility, frequent water pollution, reduced biodiversity in the surrounding areas and wild animal and livestock poisoning.
According to the UK-based Pesticide Action Network, at least 20,000 people in developing countries die every year from poisoning by agricultural pesticides and three million suffer acute or reproductive after effects.
The majority of cotton, by weight, ends up in our food supply. Cottonseed oil is used in everything from cookies to canned tuna.
Growing organic cotton means health and ecological damage can be prevented so that human illness, environmental depletion and financial losses can be reduced.
Organic cotton feels softer because the cotton fibers are left intact and not broken down by the chemicals used in the farming and processing of non-organic cotton.
Organic cotton is not finished with formaldehyde, which has been identified as a cancer-causing agent by the International Institute for Research on Cancer and which is used to finish non-organic cotton products.
Organic cotton is less likely to trigger allergies: there are no harmful chemicals and organic cotton is more breathable.
Organic cotton doesn't use chemicals, so water run-off is not toxic.

*From Metowestyle.com