Green clothing

Chances are, you recycle and you probably try to conserve energy.  But have you ever wondered what else you can do to help the environment?  You may not realize it, but you can do more.  Starting with the clothes you wear.

At the Rochester Folk Art Guild, the clothes are "green"

Not all in color, but in composition.
 

"We use all natural fibers and that actually preceeds the go green movement. The guild is based on a lot of traditional folk design and processes," says member Linda Metzger.  

She and Claudia Welbourne are two of the 40 people that belong to the guild.  Nestled in the heart of the Finger Lakes,  it's an all natural community that survives by selling these hand made crafts.

"We start from a very natural state of the fabric and go from there," says Welbourne.  
 The clothing is made from fibers such as silk, wool and cotton, and more recently they have started using hemp and bamboo.

The natural fibers are made from plants that grow quickly.  At the guild, they buy the fabric, already woven, but in a natural state. Then they die it and sew it to form.

"I think for me personally, the biggest thing is that the natural fibers are so comfortbale to wear.

They breath, your skin breaths when you wear them, it's just comfortable," says Metzger. 

And, she is comfortable in knowing that when it is time, her clothes will return back to nature, where they originally came from.
"All of your natural fibers are biodegradable. They're not going to wind up in a landfill never decomposing."