HealthGoods

Features

• Filled with Natura Organic GrowWool that provides a great breathable, temperature control sleeping pillow.
• 100% Organic Cotton Pima Sateen Unbleached Fabric Non-Removable Cover is grown in harmony with nature, free from chemicals, pesticides and dyes.
• Wool is naturally moisture, dustmite, mold and bacteria resistant.
• Helps regulate head temperature by increasing warmth in winter and coolness in summer because of wool's natural moisture wicking and thermal properties. No hot clammy feeling.
• Won't matt down like cotton as wool is resistant to compression, but will flatten to some degree from repeated use.
• Pillow height / loft is about 7.5".
• Available in two fill weights and densities.
  • Organic Cloud - standard fill and density.
  • Organic Cloud Plus - heavier fill for a firmer feel.
• Purchasing Organic products helps protect you and the environment by improving soil quality, promoting biodiversity and reducing the amount of toxic pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals in our ground, air and water.
• Spot clean only with mild detergent or spot clean. Air dry or line dry outside.
• Made in Canada.
• Please allow 5-7 business days to ship.
• Warranty: 5 Years on defects in materials and workmanship.

Conventionally Grown Cotton

Conventionally grown cotton is a very chemically intensive crop and consumes approximately 25% of the insecticides and 10% of the pesticides used for agriculture. Producing enough cotton for one T-shirt requires about a 1/3 to 1/4 of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers. According to the US Department of Agriculture, fifty-five million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on conventional cotton grown in the U.S. in 2003 and over 2.03 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to conventional cotton in 2000. Synthetic chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticide use increases the likelihood of human exposure even if there is no direct contact with these substances. These chemicals leach into the groundwater and contaminate our drinking water and end up in our food supply. Their production requires use of non-renewable petroleum based ingredients and the manufacturing process, storage and transportation produces more potential pollution.  

The US Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 in the United States as "possible," "likely," "probable," or "known" human carcinogens. The US General Accounting Office has said "Exposure to pesticides can cause a range of ill effects in humans, from relatively mild effects such as headaches, fatigue, and nausea, to more serious effects such as cancer and neurological disorders. In 1999, EPA estimated that nationwide there were at least 10,000 to 20,000 physician-diagnosed pesticide illnesses and injuries per year in farm work. Environmental effects are evident in the findings of the U.S. Geological Survey, which reported in 1999 that more than 90 percent of water and fish samples from streams and about 50 percent of all sampled wells contained one or more pesticides. The concern about pesticides in water is especially acute in agricultural areas, where most pesticides are used."

Conventionally Grown Wool

When thinking of wool, we think of the sheep where wool comes from. In the US alone, over 14,000 pounds of insecticides were applied directly to sheep in year 2,000 to help control mites, lice, flies and other pests. The application of toxic pesticides to sheep is not only dangerous to the health of the sheep, but to humans and the environment as well. Pesticides used for sheep pose serious health consequences to farm workers with impacts ranging from depression and anxiety to central nervous system damage and reduced bone formation. These pesticides are also toxic to fish and wildlife through transfer from the application site via irrigation and storm water run-off. Antibiotics are also used on conventionally raised sheep to facilitate growth and compensate for overcrowding and unhealthy living conditions. These antibiotic feed additives can contaminate surface and ground waters through animal waste and can make their way into the human food chain where they can impact the ability of medicines to overcome bacteria resistance to antibiotics in humans.

Organic Cotton and Wool

The National Organic Standards Board of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines organic agriculture as "An ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony." Certified Organic means a verification process was performed by an independent state or private organization to ensure that the strict organic standards were followed in the crop or product's production. Organic standards regulate the farm production of the raw material, but in Organic Cotton production, the finished materials can be treated with synthetic chemicals and toxic dyes and still be labeled Organic. Certified Organic Wool fiber production is different as it has stringent requirements in fiber processing. When choosing Organic products, it is important to know if the product was made from "Certified Organic" base materials and any potentially harmful finishing processes used to produce the final end product. Making a shift toward organic production will have a major beneficial impact on all of us by reducing toxic chemical human exposure and pollution to our air, water, food and land.

Organic Cotton

• Provides a comfortable, soft feel.
• Is a durable and strong material that resists abrasion.
• Can absorb up to 27 times its weight in moisture making it great for bath products.
• Helps regulate body temperature and provides protection in both cold and warm conditions. Cotton will absorb perspiration from the skin and release it to the drier air to help keep you cool.
• No synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, irradiation, sewage sludge or genetic engineering were used for the previous three years.
• Farmers use beneficial insects that are natural predators to pests, improve the soil through the use of organic compost and crop rotation and pull weeds mechanically or physically.
• Reduced soil erosion, retention of soil nutrients and no contamination from toxic pesticide use that can remain persistent in our environment.

Organic Wool

• A natural flame retardant and is used in place of toxic synthetic chemical flame retardant products to meet federal standards.
• Resistant to compression and springs back to shape to provide long life durability. A wool fiber can be bent up to 20,000 times without breaking compared to 3,200 times for cotton.
• Helps regulate body temperature and provides protection in both cold and warm conditions. Wool works to balance moisture conditions and will absorb perspiration from the skin and release it to the drier air to help keep you cool. In humid environments, wool provides a layer of dry air next to the body. Can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling wet.
• Produced in accordance with federal standards for Organic livestock production.
• Genetic engineering and hormones are prohibited.
• No synthetic pesticides can be used in feed, externally or on pasture land. Sheep can not be dipped in pesticides to control pests and grazing land must be free of synthetic chemicals for at least three years.
• Animal feed must be organic from the last third of gestation period.
• Livestock health is maintained through good management practices.
• Fiber processing restricts chemical use and requires separation of organic and non-organic fibers.

The Cost of Organic Cotton and Wool

There are several factors that impact the cost of Organic Cotton and Wool products. At the present time, Organic textile products cost more than a comparable conventionally grown textile product. As demand for Organic products increase, the growing, manufacturing and distribution costs will decrease to a point closer to conventionally grown products. Buying Organic products also helps to create a market transformation in which higher demand reduces costs and provides finished goods through more mainstream sources. Here are a few reasons why Organic Cotton and Wool products are more expensive.

• Economies of Scale - conventional product sales substantially exceed Organic product sales. The costs associated with the growing/harvesting, manufacturing and distribution are higher due to the smaller quantities.
• Organic Farming is more Labor Intensive - because Organic farming uses mechanical and human intervention rather than pesticides for crop maintenance, growing costs can be higher.

There are two costs associated when purchasing Organic products:

1. The Purchase Cost - this is the cost you pay for your product at the retail outlet.
2. The Environmental Cost - this is the cost you don't see when purchasing the product. There is a real financial cost and a personal cost associated with the use and exposure to toxic chemicals. The financial impacts may be through increased health care costs or through toxic waste cleanup and treatment of our air, water and land. Personal costs are more devastating such as those from disease, birth defects and changes to our wildlife.

Organic Information

Organic refers to the way food and fiber crops are grown and processed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented the National Organic Program (NOP) in 2002. The NOP program outlines standards for methods, substances and practices to be used in the production and handling of crops, livestock and processed agricultural products. In general, Organic production begins with non-genetically modified seeds and plants that are grown without the use synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides. Soil is improved through crop rotation and reduced water usage due to higher organic matter content. Here are some of the NOP Crop Standards:

• Land must have no prohibited substances applied to it for at least 3 years before the harvest of an organic crop.
• Soil fertility and crop nutrients will be managed through tillage and cultivation practices, crop rotations, and cover crops, supplemented with animal and crop waste materials and allowed synthetic materials.
• Crop pests, weeds, and diseases will be controlled primarily through management practices including physical, mechanical, and biological controls. When these practices are not sufficient, a biological, botanical, or synthetic substance approved for use on the National List may be used.
• Preference will be given to the use of organic seeds and other planting stock, but a farmer may use non-organic seeds and planting stock under specified conditions.
• The use of genetic engineering (included in excluded methods), ionizing radiation and sewage sludge is prohibited.

By incorporating Organic production methods in the growing of food and fiber products, we can reduce our overall exposure to toxic chemicals and synthetic pesticides that pollute our air, water and land and enter out food chain. Organic growers improve the environment by:

• Protecting the surface and ground waters by eliminating contaminants in runoff.
• Reduce the health and biological/environmental risk for insect and plant disease control.
• Establish long term prevention of pests through habitat control.
• Yield soils with higher organic matter and deeper topsoil depths.
• Organic farming methods use natural fertilizers, like compost and animal manure, that recycles the nitrogen already in the soil rather than adding more, which reduces both pollution and N2O emissions.

Cotton

The largest suppliers of cotton in order are India, Syria, Turkey, China, Tanzania, United States, Uganda, Peru, Egypt and Burkina Faso. In 2008, the US, Organic cotton reached over 9,200 acres and 14,000 bales, representing 2.1% of the global production according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA). According to the latest 2009 findings, US Organic cotton plantings reached over 10,700 acres, the highest since 2001. Cotton products are very prolific in our society. Some examples include T-shirts, towels, bed sheets, blankets, clothing,, diapers and personal care items. Conventionally grown cotton is considered the world’s dirtiest crop, due to the fact it uses more insecticides than any other crop. Cotton cover 2.5% of the worlds cultivated land, but uses 16% of the world’s insecticides. Here are some facts on conventionally grown cotton according to OTA:

• Aldicarb, parathion, and methamidopho are three of the most acutely hazardous insecticides to human health as determined by the World Health Organization and are in the top ten most commonly used in cotton production.
• Aldicarb, cotton's second best selling insecticide and most acutely poisonous to humans, can kill a man with just one drop absorbed through the skin, yet it is still used in 25 countries and the US, where 16 states have reported it in their groundwater.
  It takes almost 1/3 of a pound of fertilizer to make the raw cotton needed for one T-shirt.
• Fifty-five million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 12.8 million acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. in 2003 (4.3 pounds/ acre), ranking cotton third behind corn and soybeans in total amount of pesticides sprayed.
• The cottonseed hull, where many pesticide residues have been detected, is a secondary crop sold as a food commodity. It is estimated that as much as 65% of cotton production ends up in our food chain, whether directly through food oil or indirectly through the milk and meat of animals.
• Insecticide use has decreased in the last 10 years with the introduction of Biotechnology (BT), the fastest adapted yet most controversial new technology in the history of agriculture. As of 2007, Bt cotton already commands 34% of total cotton cropland and 45% of world cotton production. In Bt cotton, the insecticide is always present in the plant rather than applied in periodic spraying sessions which will lead to rapid rates of pest immunities and possibly produce superpests.
• Nitrogen synthetic fertilizers are a major contributor to increased N2O emissions, which are 300 times more potent than CO2 as greenhouse gas, which is ominous for global warming as synthetic fertilizer use is forecasted to increase roughly 2.5 times by mid-century.

Wool

Organic Wool is used in any application used by conventional wool such as clothes, blankets and coats. Wool is produced in accordance with the NOP standards for Livestock to be labeled Organic. According to the Organic Trade Association and National Organic Program, Federal requirements for organic livestock production include:

• Livestock feed and forage used from the last third of gestation must be certified organic.
• Use of synthetic hormones and genetic engineering is prohibited.
• Use of synthetic pesticides (internal, external, and on pastures) is prohibited.
• Producers must encourage livestock health through good cultural and management practices.
• Producers must feed livestock agricultural feed products that are 100 percent organic, but may also provide allowed vitamin and mineral supplements.
• Organically raised animals must not be given hormones to promote growth, or antibiotics for any reason.
• Preventive management practices, including the use of vaccines, must be used to keep animals healthy. Producers must not withhold treatment from a sick or injured animal; however, animals treated with a prohibited medication may not be sold as organic.
• All organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors, including access to pasture for ruminants. They may be temporarily confined only for reasons of health, safety, the animal's stage of production, or to protect soil or water quality.

Third party certifiers ensure the Organic livestock producers use only the methods and materials allowed in Organic production. Organic livestock management is different from non-organic management in at least two major ways:

1. Sheep cannot be dipped in parasiticides (insecticides) to control external parasites such as ticks and lice.
2. Organic livestock producers are required to ensure that they do not exceed the natural carrying capacity of the land on which their animals graze.

According to a 2005 survey conducted for OTA, almost 19,000 lbs of Organic wool were grown in the USA. New Mexico was the largest producer (81%) with 15,300 lbs, followed by Montana with 2,400 lbs. Other states with 500lbs or less each include Maine, Colorado, New Jersey and Vermont.