Organic Cotton

I am all for organic foods and try to feed my family healthy meals (much to my daughters' dismay). Is it more expensive to buy organic? Yes and no. Though organic produce may cost more, its health benefits pay off in the long run.

What about organic cotton, denim's latest update? The processes denim goes through to get that worn in, cool look are astonishingly detrimental to the environment. Here are some statistics, from Marie Claire magazine:

- 1,500 gallons of water are required to produce 1.5 pounds of cotton--the amount it takes to make one pair of jeans.

- Cotton fields claim 25 percent of all insecticides sprayed worldwide.

- Synthetic dyes used to give jeans their trademark indigo hue often leach into nearby water and soil, destroying plant and animal life.

Buying organic denim jeans does not need to break your wardrobe bank. Patagonia (shown above) offers a pair for $79. Stella McCartney's jeans, on the other hand, are $415! So give some thought to going organic when it comes to making your next jeans purchase.