Natural Clothing, Organic Apparel, and Eco Friendly Wears from Ibex, Icebreaker, smartwool, kavu, and more.

We at Rooted to Nature are great proponents of life-long learning. Every day in this natural fiber business, we learn something. For us, the move to natural fibers is not merely a response to consumer demands. We want to lead the trends and educate ourselves and as many people as possible on the benefits of natural fibers for our sake and the sake of the planet. Unlike retailers, we are not limited to the size of a hangtag in describing the benefits of our products. You can browse our site at your leisure and learn about the features and benefits and even the history of various fibers used in the products we carry. We believe in the Reduce, Recycle and Reuse ethic and want to help you make educated purchasing decisions by incorporating education directly in line with our products. Our goal is to have a site that is not only easy to navigate and understand but it will also be informative about the products as well as lifestyle and sustainability interests. Look for our educational material through out the site or check with Professor Rooty for the newest articles on natural fiber clothing.

Rooted Radio

Fiber Discusion

Environmental Benefits

Personal Benefits

Eco-Manufacturing

	Icebreaker, The Merino Behind the Clothing
Listen to the Show People associate wool often with being an itchy fiber and what differentiates merino wool from what we call lowland sheep wool is just really the thickness of each fiber. What's different about merino wool is that it's extremely fine and the friction on the fiber isn't actually able to be picked up by the human skin. This show looks at the process taken by Icebreaker in using merino wool in each piece of clothing that they make. We will also look at the transplants of Icebreaker from the farm to fashion runway and what they are doing to make sure each part of their business is sustainable. Join Cathy Montgomery and Deb Boswell, American Marketing director for Icebreaker for an in depth look into merino wool and the growth of Icebreaker.
	Verve the Way Business Should Be Done
Listen to the Show Verve clothing starts off with the notion that the piece itself can be completely stripped of any kind of logo and kind of direct reference back to where it came from and that someone who is passionate about climbing or yoga would see that this is what the clothing is for. Maybe in a crowded store or even just in a thrift store somewhere years from now someone would say, "Wow, this is exactly what I've been looking for. Someone really thought about the design when they made this piece, and I can see that." To Verve, a comment like this means more to them then any branding that could be placed on their clothing. Join Christian Griffith, Owner of Verve Inc. and Cathy Montgomery of Rooted to Nature as they discuss the importance of keeping production and design close to home.
	The Advantage and Story Behind Smartwool Clothing
Listen to the Show It is the tactile nature of the Smartwool clothing brand, it's the openness of the brand, and it's most importantly products that work and perform and keep people comfortable, no matter the conditions, that makes smartwool who they are. But I think it does really go back to that defining moment when the founders of the company really were uncomfortable and sat down and gave some thought to what was going on. This show looks into the Smartwool and its rise in the merino wool clothing industry with special guest Gardner Flanaghan, Smartwools Marketing Director and Cathy Montgomery, Co-Founder of Rooted to Nature.
	Ibex and the Merino Wool of Today
Listen to the Show Today's program is a discussion on Merino wool and the changes in attitudes towards and the applications of wool, a natural fiber clothing. Today's wool is a far cry from the scratchy, itchy material of your grandparents' day. Wool is now soft, machine washable, perfect for all weather applications, naturally anti microbial and completely environmental friendly. We now join VTalk Radio's, Zach Matheson, and Kathy Montgomery of Rooted to Nature in an open discussion on the exciting aspects of the easily sustainable natural fiber, with Keith Anderson of Ibex Clothing
	Natural Clothing in a Sustainable World - Part 1
Listen to the Show Ok, so Scott and Matt, from Indigenous Designs. Let's get started right away. What are some of the basics in the organic or eco friendly clothing industry today? Particularly what is considered a natural fiber?
	Natural Clothing in a Sustainable World - Part 2
Listen to the Show Hi, we're back with Matt Reynolds and Scott Leonard. Also, Cathy Montgomery from Rooted to Nature. Scott and Matt are co-founders of Indigenous Designs and Scott, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about Greensteps and the ideas that brought you to Greensteps and what the future of Greensteps is, and also if you could sort of fill in the blanks on what the differences are in the replacement of synthetic fibers with the more sustainable fiber.
	Natural Clothing in a Sustainable World - Part 3
Listen to the Show Hello, we're back with Matt Reynolds and Scott Leonard, co-founders of Indigenous Designs and Kathy Montgomery one of the co-founders of Rooted to Nature . I would like to quickly get into right away the difference between the synthetic fiber market or synthetic fiber production and natural fiber production, and I'm going to turn it over to the folks at Indigenous Designs to tell us how those items are different.
	Natural Clothing - The Benefits of Nature in our Life
Read Full Article Natural fibers are those that come from plant or animal sources. The most common natural fibers used in natural clothing today are organic cotton, wool, hemp, and silk. Some recent additions to this list include soy, bamboo, and beech wood (also known as Tencel). Each of these fibers can be turned into various textiles. Some in more ways then others. Textiles are materials that can be used to make fabric out of which clothing is made.
	Merino Wool - The Benefits of Nature
Read Full Article A lesson in making perfect wool garments borrowed from wine makers: You cannot start with any old grapes and expect to make great wine. You have to source your product with utmost care. Merino from a place like New Zealand’s spectacular Southern Alps is how an exceptional garment begins. Merino wool offers an authentic natural choice in an age of synthetics.
	Benefits of Bamboo Clothing
Read Full Article Bamboo clothing has a loyal and growing group of wearers. Looking at a Bamboo plant, we can imagine that bamboo clothing might be sturdy and environmentally friendly- and it is. What is not apparent is how soft and silky clothes made from bamboo are. A microscope photo would show that bamboo fibers are smooth, like silk fibers. Whether knit into tee shirts or woven into a linen-like fabric, bamboo clothing feels good against the skin.
	Benefits of Hemp
Read Full Article Fiber-by-fiber, yarn-by-yarn, and stitch-by-stitch Ecolution® strives to produce the highest quality and most natural hempen goods. They weave and knit their fabrics in-house creating a broad selection of beautiful products from their fabrics and directly from hemp yarns. As one idea, skill, and technological innovation has led to another over the years, Ecolution® has created increasingly sophisticated premium-quality products.
	Benefits of Silk Clothing
Read Full Article Silk is perceived as the ultimate luxury fabric. Designer dresses and wedding gowns are made of it and so are upscale suits and ties. But silk moved from luxury to utility when garments such as sweaters, underwear, pajamas, hats, scarves, and socks became available in silk. We wondered whether this was just a gimmick. So we went looking for the story of one of the ultimate natural fibers- silk.
	Benefits of Wool
Read Full Article Wool has the widest comfort range of any natural fiber in the world. We usually think of wool as only a cold weather garment, but traditional peoples have worn it for thousands of years in both summer and winter. Wool is extremely breathable for evaporating sweat. You can work out for hours and stay dry.
	Why Buy Organic Cotton
Read Full Article The most worn, best loved, and most popular natural fiber is cotton. Nothing feels quite as comfortable as putting on a freshly laundered cotton tee shirt. It’s like wearing a sunny day. Yet, cotton has a little known shady side, too. As typically grown and processed, cotton has a very negative environmental impact.
	What is Tencel
Read Full Article Lyocell is a fiber first made from wood pulp cellulose in 1988. It can be called a man made natural fiber. It is often known by the Lenzing Group’s brand name, TENCEL®, in the same way that we commonly call tissue, Kleenex®. The process of making lyocell begins with trees. Beech wood is turned into pulp that is dissolved, spun, precipitated into fibers, washed, finished, and dried. Then the fibers are woven into fabric.
	Crazy Weather
Read Full Article So if the globe is warming, why are we freezing? Climate scientists assert that weird weather events will be more frequent as the climate shifts. They predict more extreme weather like cold in California, ice in Texas, and wind all around. Hopefully, these events are a wake up call and will get everyone taking action to lessen our environmental footprint.
	Hemp - A Path to a Sustainable Economy
Read Full Article Hemp is a plant with the potential to provide valuable ecological solutions to help our civilization transform its economy to a more natural one. All energy for life on Earth comes from the Sun through plants. In order to create a sustainable cycle for life, a viable economy must be based on renewable carbohydrates (plants) — the vital alternative to nonrenewable hydrocarbons (petroleum and other fossil fuels).
	Layering Up
Read Full Article Many of the clothes we carry are perfect for layering. We look for performance, comfort, fit, fiber content and environmental impact when buying natural fiber clothing. Dressing in layers is comfortable, functional, and convenient. Layering up is not just for Arctic expeditioners, either. When you're heading out to ski, to bike, to walk the dog, or to go in and out of heated spaces, layering allows you to adjust as the day and the body warm or cool. Thin layers increase the freedom to move while heavier layers offer insulation against the elements.
	Benefits of Wool Bike Clothing
Read Full Article To be sure- sportswear manufacturers worked hard to knit and spin petrochemicals into performance gear in cool styles and colors while the natural fiber manufacturers were the cotton clad slowpokes on the heavy bikes. While they were cruising though, they had time to think and so did I. I thought: I hate polyester and spandex. They thought: those synthetic people keep trying to invent fabrics that have the qualities of wool.
	Quality Behind Hemp
Read Full Article Fiber-by-fiber, yarn-by-yarn, and stitch-by-stitch Ecolution® strives to produce the highest quality and most natural hempen goods. They weave and knit their fabrics in-house creating a broad selection of beautiful products from their fabrics and directly from hemp yarns. As one idea, skill, and technological innovation has led to another over the years, Ecolution® has created increasingly sophisticated premium-quality products.