Organic t-shirt showdown

[Update: Oh <expletive deleted>.  In a fit of excessive bliss about my new windows I've screwed up the price on the glo 4life shirts in a blog entry complaining about them!  I am a terminal boob... but even a terminal boob clock is right twice a day and I will elaborate on my concerns about glo 4life's prices in Thursday's posts.  And I will triple-check my numbers - yes, that means I'll take my shoes off while doing the math this time.]

The ultra-fabulous glo 4life (previously loved by HippyShopper here and here) has a brand-new spate of hot-stuff tees with super graphics, such as the one to the right, "Butterfly Invaders".  Each shirt is made of 100% Indian organic cotton, socially responsible, durable, original designs.

At £25 £20-£22.5 a pop, there's been some argument about whether the shirts are appropriately priced.  £25 £20-£22.5 translates into about $45 USD or $50 CAD, $37 USD or $40 CAD, which is an awful lot to pay for a t-shirt in either country.  How much, it was asked, would we pay for a shirt here?  Well, Prana seems like a fair thing to compare to, with organic cotton shirts starting at $24.

The Prana paisley t-shirt (shown left) is $24.  It is sustainably developed and made of organic cotton.  Their mural t-shirt, also at $24, has a similar low-key graphic and then the Dhari, $32, is plain with subtle sewn detailing.  So if it's important that you have organic tees for daily wear, this may be more up your alley.  Then again, you could just get get plain organic t-shirts from Mountain Equipment Co-op (available for women and men) for an incredibly modest $12 CAD (although I don't know the circumstances they're made under, but MEC products tend to be socially responsible in general).  I have a black MEC shirt that I've been wearing continuously for four years and it's still as fresh as the day I bought it.  (I do wash it regularly though.)  I'm sure the glo 4life shirts are wonderful - HippyShoppers clearly love them - but I'm having trouble justifying one glo 4life shirt versus four three MEC shirts and a pair of socks.  (But then, if I want a shirt with a graphic on it, having been trained as an artist since age 2 or so, my tendency is just to embellish it myself - $3 worth of fabric marker and $5 worth of stencil goes a long way.  But yes, I know, not everybody has some decades lying around to learn how to make 'em yrself.)

[GT]

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Comments

I love that organic and/or fair trade t-shirts are more widely available, but please, please, please manufacturers produce some for women with v-necks! They are much more flattering (and I find them easier to wear) if you are, er, well-endowed around the chest region!

Glo4Life is a bit pricy but I bought my boyfriend a shirt for his birthday and it's brilliant, great customer service too.

Posted by: Katherine | May 10, 2006 9:22 AM

I'd agree that £20+ is too pricey for a t-shirt, which I why I haven't, as yet, started to organicise my meagre wardrobe. And finding ethical shirts, at a decent price, is proving nigh on impossible. I'll have to start my new job in high-street (shudder) gear at this rate.

There is no price to be put on helping do your bit for the planet and its tennants, but I don't yet have the bank balance to get a fully green wardrobe. Charity shops will have to suffice for now.

Posted by: Mr Marsh | May 10, 2006 11:11 PM

wow - sounds like your beating up on glo4life - I'm a big fan of theirs, what they stand for, how they do it and the excellent designs they produce! like katherine above I've bought from them (more than once!) - no I haven't bags full of cash - but they are an excellent T-shirt with cool designs, and what price do we put on the planet?

if I want blanks, or mediocre desings, then yes I can pay anything from £7.99 + for organic T-shirts in the UK - but I don't! I want quality and design and the reassurance that I'm buying from an ethical company and supporting a small company rather than a huge high-street conglomorete.

anyway - here in the UK, glo4life T-shirts are a good price (for quality/fashion organic T-shirts) - glo4life mens are £22.50, womens £20.00 - they are in fact better priced than Howies (who Hippyshopper big up - come on, give glo4life a chance!) who are a far bigger outfit than glo4life! and then there's another dozen or so UK brands who seem to follow Howies' prices of £25.00.

so let's leave it at that - give glo4life a try - you won't be disappointed...and let's just say that organic cotton T-shirt prices aren't the only difference between the UK and the US/Canada!

Posted by: Christian | May 11, 2006 9:59 AM

wow - sounds like your beating up on glo4life - I'm a big fan of theirs, what they stand for, how they do it and the excellent designs they produce! like katherine above I've bought from them (more than once!) - no I haven't bags full of cash - but they are an excellent T-shirt with cool designs, and what price do we put on the planet?

if I want blanks, or mediocre desings, then yes I can pay anything from £7.99 + for organic T-shirts in the UK - but I don't! I want quality and design and the reassurance that I'm buying from an ethical company and supporting a small company rather than a huge high-street conglomorete.

anyway - here in the UK, glo4life T-shirts are a good price (for quality/fashion organic T-shirts) - glo4life mens are £22.50, womens £20.00 - they are in fact better priced than Howies (who Hippyshopper big up - come on, give glo4life a chance!) who are a far bigger outfit than glo4life! and then there's another dozen or so UK brands who seem to follow Howies' prices of £25.00.

so let's leave it at that - give glo4life a try - you won't be disappointed...and let's just say that organic cotton T-shirt prices aren't the only difference between the UK and the US/Canada!

Posted by: Christian | May 11, 2006 10:00 AM

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