As we awaken ourselves this spring, we felt it was a perfect opportunity to focus on the idea of ORGANIC. Each week in April we are bringing you a voice from the organic movement to share with you details on the subject, why this is important to you and how prAna is mindfully navigating organic in our own business. This week’s post on Organics comes from Hood River Garlic and will be followed by posts from Textile Exchange and our own Director of Sustainability, Nicole Bassett. Tell us your thoughts…
prAna: Hood River Garlic is a certified organic garlic farm, located 60 miles east of Portland, in Hood River, Oregon. In 2010 they added 600 organic blueberry bushes with more to plant this spring. This blog post is by Terri Browne Hixson who owns the farm with her husband Eric. We reached out to Terri to hear more about why they chose organic farming and how the practice of organic reaches beyond just food, but to clothing as well.
HRG: We have been growing organic garlic since 1999. We have always been organic and we became Certified Organic by the Oregon Tilth in May 2002. This May marks our 10 year anniversary of our organic certification. From the very first garlic seed that we planted in 1999, to the 600+ blueberry bushes recently planted, we have always been organic. “A lot of farmers become organic to sell their crops for more money. For us, there was just no other way; we choose organic farming for the planet, children and the critters, not because of financial gain.” (This quote comes from the About Us section of our web site.)
If you are in a store and just look at price alone it can be easy to justify buying conventional products over organic. I think about where the product originated from and how was it grown, and I believe that organically grown food and cotton must come from a cleaner and safer environment. For example when planting garlic, I like to say “It all starts with the clove.” But in the bigger picture, when it comes to agriculture, “it all starts with the soil”. Soil health is an essential aspect of all farming, whether it is organic or conventional. Pesticides, herbicides and petroleum based fertilizers poison the earth; from the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the soil we till to grow our food. It does not matter if the crop is grown for food, or clothing. Everything flows downstream, I prefer to buy organic knowing that I am not supporting agriculture that poisons the rivers and fish. One reason that organically grown food and cotton is more expensive than conventional is labor costs. A major labor expense for organic farmers is weeding, because we don’t rely on chemicals to kill and inhibit weeds, weeds are pulled by hand or mechanically. By spending a few extra dollars when you choose organic over conventional, you are helping to support organic farm workers to live happier and healthier lives by not being exposed to harmful chemicals.
prAna: And supporting organic farmers is not just about food – what about all the cotton farmers that are making their livelihoods from growing the fiber for many of our clothes.
HRG: Cotton is one of the most densely sprayed crops in the world. It is responsible for about 15% of the worlds conventional pesticide use. Most conventional cotton is grown in 3rd world countries where they do not have the restrictions on toxic chemicals like we have in the US and Europe. Many of these farmers are poor and cannot even afford to buy respirators or protective clothing to wear while spraying the poisonous chemicals, so it gets into their lungs and on their skin. They often spray all the way up to harvest time, so the overspray ends up affecting all of the farm workers in the field.
In organic farming, the field workers on organic cotton farms will not be exposed to these toxic pesticides. Instead of chemicals, they use mechanical and hand weeding techniques, the introduction of beneficial insects, crop rotation and intercropping (planting different crops together). They will not suffer from the respiratory problems and other health problems from being exposed to the toxic chemicals of conventional cotton farming.
The more we choose organic, the more organic products will become available to us. As consumers, higher demand of a product will help drive down prices, as long as there is supply and demand for that product. We are not talking about oil, we are talking about agriculture. And it all comes down to our planet, whether we are putting it on the dinner table or to clothe our backs, we need to take care of Mother Earth.
I have to acknowledge a company like prAna that provides organic products to consumers. Living in Hood River, I can’t afford the time or gas money to go to Portland to shop. I love to use prAna’s web site, buying prAna is so easy, the clothes have such great colors and designs, yet they are functional. From the yoga clothes, to casual clothes, to the hiking and climbing clothes, (I planted 600 blueberry bushes in the Bedford prAna pants I am wearing right now!) You don’t have to sacrifice anything to support your values when buying organic cotton clothing. As organic farmers, Eric and I love to support other organic farmers.
Your dollars are your voice. Please choose organic. It is the best choice for the soil, the air, wildlife, rivers, fish, animals and most importantly: children and you.
Terri Browne Hixson, Owner, Hood River Garlic
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15 year old prAna climber, Enzo Oddo is on his first visit to U.S. soil from France. He went directly to Smith Rock near Bend, Oregon to get on J. B. Tribout’s legendary climb ‘Just do it’. Even in 86 degree temps, Enzo sent the route on Friday after just 2 days ! No wonder Chris Sharma calls him the next Chris Sharma. Welcome to the U.S. Enzo and we’ll see you up at Smith soon!
