From the category archives:

Clothing

New Soft Helmet Turns Hard in Crash: The RibCap

December 5, 2005

The Ribcap is a soft, flexible cap that hardens on impact to protect the head from damage. The secret lies in the use of an elastomeric compound called d3o. It was discovered by researchers at University of Hertfordshire. It’s a shear thickening material, which is flexible when moved slowly, but when it is compressed by [...]

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Yaktrax Ice and Snow Shoe Grips

November 30, 2005

Here’s something that allows you to get traction on snow or ice while wearing your regular shoes. These Yaktrax grips are essentially a thick rubber bands, equipped with steel coils, that fit over the sole of your shoes. Apparently the idea was borrowed from the Tibetans. Priced around $20 per pair, available from Amazon.

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Outer340 Clipper by Icebreaker

November 22, 2005

This newly released Outer340 Clipper jacket from Icebreaker is made out 100% New Zealand merino wool. The “Outer340″ refers the the weight of the wool (340 grams per square centimeter). It costs about $230 USD. See this previous post for details on why we think their clothing is metaefficient. This page has a [...]

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Pachira Hemp Hiking Boot

November 18, 2005

This boot’s upper and laces are made of a blend of 50% hemp and 50% cotton for durability. The soles contain 40% recycled hospital gloves (or car tires in the black soled version) and the tongue padding and insole are recovered foam from upholstery manufacturing. The removable insole padding and tongue are 100% recycled foam [...]

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Bamboo Socks

November 15, 2005

Bamboo socks are efficient because they don’t retain odor and are very comfortable to wear. But we’ve also learned that producing bamboo fiber involves a great deal of chemical treatment. Socks made with hemp or organic cotton are the most efficient overall.

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High-Wire Hemp Jacket by Patagonia

October 11, 2005

Over the years, Patagonia has been honing their use of effective materials in their clothing design. They make use of natural materials which allow the regulation of temperature and moisture — this is something that synthetic materials cannot reproduce.

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Organic Cotton Water Girl Racerback Dress

July 27, 2005

This dress, by Water Girl, is made out of 95% organic cotton and 5% Lycra.
It is intended to be worn over a swimsuit as a nighttime outfit. It is available at REI for $24.83.
Also available is this organic cotton Persuasian Top for $15.83:

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New Nike “Considered” Models

July 24, 2005

Nike has released four new “Considered” sneakers. This is good news, because the first round of sneakers were fairly unattractive. Nike produces these shoes using sustainable manufacturing practices (more details here).
However, Nike has a history of maintaining questionable working conditions in its oversesas factories. More information on this issue can be found on the Responsible [...]

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Organic Cotton Tank

July 21, 2005

Organic cotton goes mainstream, and starts to slip into the malls.
Now available from Saks Fifth Avenue, this scoopneck tank by Eileen Fisher.
It’s made in the U.S. too. The price on it is $58.

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Recycled, Biodegradeable Footwear: Solemates

July 17, 2005

Made from recycled newsprint, these remarkable and disposable slippers cost less than 50 cents each. The color is natural and no bleaching agents/chemicals have been used — even the cord and the support tube are made from twisted unbleached paper.

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Organic Cotton Shirts by Prana

July 13, 2005

Prana makes clothing out of 100% organic cotton, mostly activewear for climbing and yoga, but they also produce casual clothing like this “Cabana Stripe” shirt.
Their web site doesn’t tell you much about how the shirts are made. But we did discover from another source that they are produced in the US.
It’s available from Northern Mountain [...]

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Organic Men’s Dress Shirts by Boll

July 5, 2005

We like to see more effective products could directly replace exising ones. This organic cotton shirt is an example of that. Boll say they created this shirt because they could not find an dress shirt made with organic cotton available anywhere. So they made this dress shirt out of 100% organic U.S. Supima cotton and [...]

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Elite Hemp Blends

June 29, 2005

Hempest carries a range of shirts made of hemp blended with silk, linen and ramie. You’ll notice the dual powers of breathability and durability in these blends when wearing these shirts in the summer. The shirt pictured here is a very soft hemp/linen blend, and is available for $59.95. They also have women’s shirts.
Hempest Shirts

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IPath Hemp Jeans

June 27, 2005

Almost all jeans are made of cotton today, because, at the time the cotton gin was invented, nobody has the technology to process the tough fibers of hemp into a soft fabric. Hemp grew better than cotton in poorer soil conditions, and didn’t require pesticides, but it was discarded in those early days.
Today we have [...]

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Seaweed Clothing and Bedding: SeaCell

June 24, 2005

Want a bit of the ocean in your clothing or in your bed? Seacell is a fabric made out of Lyocell (a 100% wood pulp fiber) and seaweed. The theory is that your skin will absorb nutrients from the seaweed, which is quite mineral- and vitamin-rich. From what I can gather, Seacell incorporates 5% seaweed [...]

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New Adidas Hemp: Dakota Lo

June 24, 2005

Perhaps due to the resurgence of interest in their hemp shoes, Adidas has introduced a new shoe called the “Dakota Lo Hemp”. This cranberry number is a reintroduction of the original Adidas basketball shoe from in the late 70s. It’s reasonably metaefficient in its construction — with hemp uppers and laces. We believe the sole [...]

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Men’s Bamboo Fiber Shirt

May 12, 2005

Bamboo Textile has released a new, thicker men’s bamboo shirt. (We outlined the advantages of bamboo fiber clothing previously). We were thinking a thicker bamboo shirt would be a good idea — the thinner ones are really only suitable for summer, or to wear as an undershirt. The new shirt is 70% bamboo fiber and [...]

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Natural Indigo Jeans: Metaefficient?

April 26, 2005

Originally, jeans were dyed with the color of the actual indigo plant.
Today, natural indigo jeans can’t be considered metaefficient because they are expensive and only available as a kind of designer jean. Notwithstanding this, people admire these jeans because of their distinctive, deeply hued appearance. The story behind them is interesting too.
There are at least [...]

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Bamboosa Clothing

April 21, 2005

More bamboo fiber clothing! This time made in the U.S. and organically produced. Bamboosa is an eco-efficient company based in Andrews, South Carolina. They blend bamboo fiber with organic cotton to make an innovative range of clothing.
The men’s short, pictured here, is made from 100% bamboo French terry fabric (i.e. extremely soft).
Bamboosa is a [...]

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Bamboo Clothes

April 21, 2005

Bamboo Textile sells clothes made out of bamboo fiber. Why bamboo? Well, its one of the softest fabrics in the world — softer than cotton, and it has a slightly silky sheen. It also very breatheable, which makes its great to wear in spring and summer.
The other advantage of this fabric is that bamboo is [...]

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