Blog posts tagged with 'thailand'

Living in High Cotton

That is us, living in the 21st century. “Pretty cushy lives” compared to the limited choices our primitive forbears suffered, specifically when you consider clothing.

The various raw materials woven into the fabrics we use every day are a fascinating discovery for those who care to check labels. Natural or synthetic, and blends of these. Fibers from organic cotton or recycled soda bottles. Claims of astonishing versatility and benefits to your skin, to reassuring protection of endangered species.

For our conversation today, we are looking at cotton, the most widely used natural fiber cloth.

The Plant and Process

Gossypium, a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae, is native to tropical and subtropical climates. The plant develops short-lived white blossoms about three months after planting. In their place appear green triangular pods, which are called bolls. During the next two months, seeds and seed hair (or cotton fiber) develop inside the bolls. Once mature, the bolls burst into white fluffs, each containing about ten seeds embedded in the mass of seed fibers.

The opened bolls are harvested by hand or machine. In most underdeveloped nations, cotton is still hand-picked – a labor-intensive, tiresome, and costly process. It takes about eight hours to pick a pound of cotton! However, this method generally produces cleaner cotton due to the selective capability of humans.

In ancient times, the seeds were also tediously removed by hand. The invention of the cotton gin (short for engine) in 1793 by the American Eli Whitney lowered cost and allowed the removal of the seeds fifty times faster than the manual process. Modern gins operate on the same principle as the rudimentary contraption Eli developed: the harvested cotton passes over a cylinder covered in sharp teeth that grabs the fiber and pulls them into narrow openings, separating the seeds from the fiber strands. 
The seedless fibers are cleaned from debris, packed into bales, and shipped off to be spun into yarn and eventually woven into cotton cloth. Watch a demonstration of the original cotton gin here.

Cotton is a zero-waste product. Linters (shorter strands stuck on the removed seeds) provide cellulose for manufacturing plastics, explosives, paper products, and padding for mattresses. The crushed seeds become cooking oil, livestock feed, fertilizer, and high-protein concentrate in some food products. The stalks and leaves of the plant get plowed into the soil.

The History

Ancient civilizations in the Americas, Africa, and Asia cultivated cotton and made cloth from the strands. The fabric made its way to the Middle East and was eventually traded by Arab merchants around 800AD in Italy and Spain. In Britain, wool was king of the fabrics. Compared to cotton, wool was easier and cheaper to produce. Wealthy English were so drawn to the exotic new cloth from the tropics that the wool industry suffered economic losses. So much so that in the late 17th century, the wool barons pressured the British Parliament into signing several laws against cotton imported from India. But, the tide could not be stemmed for long. Trendy cotton quickly became how the growing middle class could display their wealth and status.

The word cotton originates from the Arabic qutun, describing any fine textile. (I love the German word for cotton: baumwolle = tree wool.) Calico, our word for plain-woven textile from unbleached cotton, got its name from Calicut, the city in India where the fabric was traditionally woven, dyed, and printed in bright colors.

The Quality

Cotton quality depends on how long the fiber strands are after ginning. The longer the thread, the finer the cotton.

The many beneficial properties of cotton products led to its mass adoption globally. Cotton cloth is durable and tear-resistant due to the plant's strong cell structure. It is soft on the skin, comfortable, and static-free. Its absorbent nature makes it a breathable fabric and an unwelcome environment for lingering bacteria.

The well-known cotton seal was designed 50 years ago. It is still a powerful influence on designers and an effective sales builder. When age-old cotton is compared to modern synthetic fibers so popular these days, it seems the verdict is still out on which fiber is superior in texture and sustainability. What do you say? Is Cotton King? For me, it is an easy yes when choosing clothes and linens.  I'm very happy I live in an age where I have buying options and free access to information about the process and production of what ends up in my shopping cart. 

This month Unique Batik is highlighting a wide variety of cotton garments from Thailand. Explore our wide range of comfortable flowy tops, bottoms, and dresses. And choose cotton!

Further reading:

https://www.eiu.edu/historia/Harzinski.pdf

https://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/story/importance.cfm

https://sanvt.com/blogs/journal/the-history-of-cotton-fabric 

Most people love BLUE. Claimed to have soothing effects on humans, the color blue often evokes feelings of peace and tranquility. Blue is also the most common clothing color. Think the ubiquitous blue jean.

Blue Jeans

Genoa, Italy, was known for producing a hard-wearing cotton cloth, which became known as jeane, named for the city. Attempting to replicate this fabric, weavers in Nimes, France, developed a unique and sturdy fabric using a twill weave. They dyed the warp thread blue with indigo and left the waft thread white and called it Serge de Nimes, which became de Nimes and then denim. Read about it here: 

King of dyes

Indigo blue is one of the seven primary colors in the color wheel and the rainbow. Natural indigo dye is an extract from the leaves of Indigofera, a tropical genus. Because the dye acts by attaching and wrapping its molecules to and around each string of fabric, it protects the fabric in a way that makes it last longer. And so they call indigo the King of Dyes.

The name means “from India” since India was the primary supplier to Europe between 30 BC and 400 AD. But the origin of this fascinating natural dye goes back even further in time and to the other side of the world. Archaeologists discovered an indigo-dyed cloth in Peru and dated it at 6,000 years. 

Widely used among all the major ancient civilizations in the Americas, the Spanish started exporting Maya Blue in the sixteenth century from the region that is now Guatemala. France and England eventually joined the lucrative trade, and two centuries later, indigo was successfully cultivated in Mexico, Venezuela, and the Caribbean.

Blue Gold

Eliza Lucas Pinckney, born in the Caribbean, was sent to the family’s Charleston plantations as a teenager, along with her mother and sisters. Passionate about and naturally skilled in botany, she started experimenting with indigo cultivation and processing. Persisting for years, despite setbacks and ridicule from her peers, she finally succeeded in growing enough to begin dye production in 1774.

Indigo became a major export crop of the Atlantic economy, its profits fast outnumbering sugar and cotton. The colonists even used indigo dye bars as currency during the Revolutionary War!

The Indigo Girl, by Natasha Boyd, is a delightful re-telling of this remarkable person, the first woman inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.

Green leaves to blue dye

Turning leaf into coloring agent is complicated, involving many chemical reactions. The green basil-like leaves are immediately submerged in water after being harvested, to initiate fermentation. They are left to soak for at least a day, after which the leaves are removed and used as a rich nitrogen fertilizer. The liquid in the tank is still lemon green with a purple-blue floating froth. Vigorous whisking for an hour oxidizes the water. Only during this phase does the green water turn reddish blue. Skilled artisans often taste the brew, ascertaining its potency and readiness. The final product, dye cakes or powder, is achieved after several additional processes. Indigo in this format is what a fabric dyer uses, adding only water and a reducing agent such as natural fructose or chemicals.

We source indigo-dyed products from Thailand, where traditional indigo dyeing has been going on for generations. The Indigofera plant is called hom in Thai. The women artisans of northern Thailand demonstrate an unusual emotional relationship with their dye vats. They believe their brews are alive, of “having souls” needing loving care beyond maintaining the chemical balance. They often sing to their vats as they “feed” them, and the vats are kept alive by vigilant care and supervision.

The Thai dye never dies.

Links to more:

The rich indigo tradition in India: India's Blue Gold

For more about Thailand's indigo Guardians: Culture Trip

Curious to try your hand at dying with indigo: Banana Vat Dye

Shop at Unique Batik for featured indigo wear this month: 

Mystic Indigo Bag

Indigo cap sleeve shirt

A holiday means you can sleep in today. Or not.

Ear-shattering machine-gun-like percussion jerks you from slumber before the day breaks. Incessant whistle blows, and cheering over a megaphone follows. Torch-runners arrive in the village after running all night. The annual celebration of Guatemala’s independence from Spain is in full swing.

Across the Atlantic in West Africa, the national flag flies high on March 6th as our Ghanaian friends tune their trumpets and guitars in preparation for the parades and carnival to commemorate their country’s freedom, the first sub-Saharan nation to gain independence (1957). The family gathers to enjoy traditional food like waakye (rice & beans) and kenkey (sourdough dumplings).

And if you happen to wake up in Thailand on December 5th, a gentle prayer ceremony followed by renditions of the national anthem announces their independence festivities. The rest of the day is loud with flamboyant and ostentatious pageantry.

And what of fireworks? A standard crowd-pleaser everywhere in the world, no expense is spared to light up the sky when celebrating freedom. (They say the first fireworks were bamboo stalks that the Chinese threw in the fire, which exploded loudly as the hollow air pockets heated up.)

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” So Emma Lazarus’ words ring out over the Hudson.

What is this yearning? Do you recognize it? What would you give up for it?

INDEPENDENCE literally means “not hanging from.” The idea invokes sentiments of self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and autonomy. Liberty.

(Pendere is the root meaning to weigh, estimate, or pay, from which we get words like pendant, pending, and appendage.)

A strong desire for freedom is evident in all of us from a young age. Have you ever observed toddlers testing the boundaries and exerting their will forcefully as soon as they can sit up? A reach for self-determination seems wired into our DNA. And, especially in America, this freedom is highly valued and encouraged.

The reality, though, for countless individuals worldwide, is quite the opposite. Economic and political restraints leave them “hanging” year after year. Dependence on handouts leaves people stuck in suffocating patterns. Their self-determination weakens, and their creativity suffers.

“For everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” (Albert Einstein)

That is why the stories of the artisans with whom Unique Batik does business are worth celebrating. They have reached beyond their grasp, attaining levels of financial independence that were unimaginable to their parents. This achievement is especially significant where women entrepreneurs succeed in places where their contributions have been strictly limited traditionally. Read about Diego, Carmelita, and Luisa.

We watch them emerge as rulers, as per their original design.

It was a woman who created the first Star-Spangled Banner. Mary Pickersgill took up flag-making when she became a widow at a young age. Her business eventually supported a household of women whom she trained as seamstresses.

It is important to note that these artists-heroes didn’t drift into freedom. Similarly, our treasured American rights would have remained a hollow dream if it wasn’t for the risks and sacrifices of individuals and communities. By disciplined choices, sustained efforts, and stubborn endurance, they were able to create a fulfilling life for themselves and their families. Epictetus, an ancient Greek philosopher, claimed,

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

Furthermore, to gain freedom, reliance on multiple networks and the community is paramount. In other words, independence is not individualism.

Which fact connects you, the customer, in a beautiful symbiosis with the families of artists around the globe.

The words in the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776, which takes 18 minutes to read, were a bold line in the sand. A unanimous decision to stand against what the colonists perceived and experienced as oppression and tyranny. They did it TOGETHER, fully informed of the RISKS.

So, on this day, savor every free breath you take and tip your hat to our celebrated heroes, past and present. Then, consider your inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – yours and your neighbors. And vote with your feet.

Freedom
Freedom is never free.
Respect our liberty.
Enjoy its many rights.
Expect it may cause fights.
Democracy survives,
Only if backed with lives.
May we not let it die.
(Bartholomew Williams)

Earlier this year, when the COVID-19 pandemic reached America, thousands of people had trouble getting face masks. There simply weren’t enough to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Beginning in March, we’re pleased to say, Unique Batik took action to address this problem. Working in tandem with skilled artisans and longtime retail customers, we were able to produce thousands of masks — and to make them freely available.

In Guatemala, for instance, artisans created soft, colorful masks from traditional corte fabric. In Thailand, artisans made beautiful tie-dyed masks.

We donated many of these masks to nonprofit organizations, and several of our retailers did the same, or facilitated the donation process. Here are some inspiring examples of fair-trade stores doing their part:

The Bridge (Holland, Michigan)

Volunteers bought masks and sent them to the Navaho Nation, a coronavirus hotspot with an infection rate among the highest in the country. Now, thanks to contract tracing, social distancing, and a mask mandate, the Nation has almost completely eliminated new infections.

Blue Heron Design (Lee’s Summit, Missouri)

Blue Heron gave masks away for free. With donations from its customers, the store raised almost $3,500 for four local organizations: Hope House, Lee’s Summit Social Services, Black Waters Market Food Pantry, and the Humane Society Animal Shelter (which received masks with a cat print). “I’m proud of our customers,” says owner Peggy Brown, “and humbled by their generosity.”

Mosaic Fair Trade Collection (Eugene, Oregon)

Mosaic helped customers donate masks to the Navajo Nation. For more information about the Nation and its response to COVID-19, click here.

Thanks to everybody who has helped us get masks to the people who need them!

When you buy a face mask from Unique Batik, you’re helping talented artisans, like Laura and Francisco, who've been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.