Fabulous Fabrics: PM Organics Fabrics and Lace

black organic cotton fabricorganic cotton lace

PM Organics, like Near Sea Naturals, is an online shop crammed with “Textiles You Feel Good About.” PM Organics is currently closed as they move cross-country, but I thought I’d highlight them anyway since they are such a great source of eco-friendly fabrics and other supplies. You can sign up for their mailing list if you want an update when they get settled and re-open.

Their knits section includes organic cottons and blends in jersey, rib, fleece, terry, thermal, and interlock. Wovens include a few sateen sheetings, hemp and hemp blends, and twill. They also have organic cotton lace in three widths and 3/4 inch organic cotton twill tape which they note is “perfect for stabilizing seams, drawstrings, reinforcement or trim.” Organic cotton bias tape, elastic, and thread is currently sold out, but folks on the email list will get updated when they become available again.

The black floating seed crepe pictured above is 50% Organic Cotton/50% Tencel Crepe, and it’s only 10 bucks a yard. It also comes in nutmeg and seafoam. I had no idea what Tencel was, so I went to find out.

It turns out that Tencel is a brand name for a fiber called lyocell which is made of the cellulose found in wood pulp. That sounds great from a sustainability point of view compared to synthetic fabrics. But as with all products, you have to do your homework and be aware of the whole picture before making decisions.

The Organic Clothing blog, run by the folks at Lotus Organics Clothing, had a piece back in 2005 called Tencel: Sustainable but not necessarily healthy. It turns out that just like with bamboo, there are parts of the process in making lyocell that aren’t as green as we wish they were. I’m not saying I wouldn’t buy it, but it’s good to keep in mind that nothing is perfect and we just need to make the best informed choices we can.

PM Organics was founded by two moms who were looking for organic fabrics to use for making children’s clothing and cloth diapers:

We were tired of not having reasonably-priced sources of organic fabrics and were sure that others shared our feelings! As word of our fabric co-op got out, more and more people joined. Clearly, people wanted these fabrics, but like us, could not find them, at least not at affordable prices. So, we gathered all the cash we could, bought as many rolls of fabrics as we could, and started offering these wonderful organic knit fabrics as an on-going business venture.

Shops like PM Organics are a great resource for the rest of us, because they bring together so many different fabrics in one place. We wish them well in their move and look forward to updates as they get settled in their new home.

Previous Posts in the Fabulous Fabrics Series:

[Images from PM Organics.]

9 thoughts on “Fabulous Fabrics: PM Organics Fabrics and Lace”

  1. I love that they have lace, I can’t wait till they re-open so I can get some!!! Many of the sustainable fabrics have their pro’s and con’s —> but certainly I would buy tencel or bamboo over Nylon anyday! Almost anytime we mass manufacture something there is potential for environmental probs (some people complain about organic cotton even, because it takes water to grow cotton).
    It is all about making the best balanced choices within our modern society’s structure. Thanks for this post!

  2. I love that they have lace, I can’t wait till they re-open so I can get some!!! Many of the sustainable fabrics have their pro’s and con’s —> but certainly I would buy tencel or bamboo over Nylon anyday! Almost anytime we mass manufacture something there is potential for environmental probs (some people complain about organic cotton even, because it takes water to grow cotton).
    It is all about making the best balanced choices within our modern society’s structure. Thanks for this post!

  3. I love that they have lace, I can’t wait till they re-open so I can get some!!! Many of the sustainable fabrics have their pro’s and con’s —> but certainly I would buy tencel or bamboo over Nylon anyday! Almost anytime we mass manufacture something there is potential for environmental probs (some people complain about organic cotton even, because it takes water to grow cotton).
    It is all about making the best balanced choices within our modern society’s structure. Thanks for this post!

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