When you buy green clothing, you might want to consider how deeply the clothing affects the environment as a whole, those humans producing the raw materials and the finished products, and the animals or insects that are the sources of the fibers.
Once natural fibers are produced by plants or animals (or insects too, such as the silkworm), by themselves, if left to nature, they will return back to the earth and compost.
However, there may be other factors that may influence your decision to purchase them.
Although the fibers are natural, and are often processed along with other natural fibers that will also compost on their own, it may be that the processing itself may be an environmental energy drain, and have important effects on the surrounding ecosystems, such as the land, how much energy the production processes use, and the surrounding natural habitat.
Not all companies producing these fibers use the most efficient methods or those taking into consideration the impact on the land.
Some processes have been in effect for many years, with no modernization or eco-friendly processes developed for mass production.
Costs may be prohibitive for companies to update machinery or processes.
One thing that might happen is the destruction of forests and woodlands that are not properly husbanded for continued growth and development.
It takes a socially conscious company to put the effort into reforestation on a long term basis.
Results of this may include the creation of nutrient-poor areas that have lost the upper layers of soil, since there is little to no vegetation to hold it in place and the creation of down-stream overwhelm through sediment, resulting in greater risk of flooding, silt-buildup, and drinking water contamination.
This is especially true where chemicals have been used on the land; non-organic farming may add more and more chemical fertilizers to increase land yield to replace the lost nutrients, and the run off is contaminated by those chemicals.
Another effect is the shift of the proportions of carbon dioxide in the environment due to the change in balance of plant life.
Of great concern too is the way the people who produce much of the fiber and materials for the clothing industry, whether green clothing or not.
Fair wages, working and factory conditions, humane treatment, child labor, and slave labor have come to the attention of many world-wide groups.
Fair Trade laws and social movements are now directed to protect the humans, often who live in Third World countries, from exploitation.
Finally, you may wish to inform yourself of how the animals and creatures (silkworms, to be exact) are raised and treated to help you make your decisions of what green clothing to purchase.
Are they treated humanely throughout the process? If you wish to go organic, are they raised on organic land, fed organic foods, or in the case of wool, are the sheep dipped in harsh chemicals to reduce lice? Are the silkworms allowed to live out their lives and released before their silk is gathered, or are they boiled alive in their cocoons in order to gather the silk for your beautiful silk dress? It may make a difference in how you feel when you wear that dress.
Your choices depend upon the information you have and the ethics you believe in and follow.
It is a study of not only the types of green clothing you want, but the production methods, and ethics as well.