Category Archives: Organic stuff

What is Cotton in Conversion?

Ethical & Sustainable Garment Certification, Ethical Clothing, Organic stuff, ,

Cotton in conversion or transitional cotton, is cotton which is on a journey to being organic.

Organic cotton is grown under strict regulations, such as no use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified organisms, which allows it to be certified as organic.

Selvedge of organic fabric

Organic cotton must be grown on land which is clear of these chemicals for usually 3 years.  Historically, this meant that farmers couldn’t use the chemicals when growing cotton, for 3 years, but would only be able to charge for standard cotton prices.  Cotton in conversion is a bridge which allows farmers to charge an intermediate price while they are converting from conventional farming to organic farming. 

The demand for organic cotton fibres in the clothing industry is rapidly growing so the conversion process is essential for meeting the future demands.

If you would like more information on organic clothing please contact us here

We love our Bakers’ Couches…

Food Industry, Organic stuff, , , , ,

….but what are they, and what do you use them for?

They are an essential but simple tool to help you produce stunning baguettes.

A couche (pronounced koosh) or baker’s cloth, is simply a “bed” or “resting place,”. It is a piece of thick canvas or linen that provides support for boules or baguettes during the proofing phase. Couche cloths are sometimes placed into baskets to support round boules, or they can be folded around baguettes.

Cloth is pleated to help shape the dough



When dusted and folded between lengths of dough it helps support and shape the dough. It also absorbs a little of the dough’s outer moisture to help develop a skin, hold the final shape and develop a crisp crust.

Did you know that Bakers’ Couches are best left unwashed. This way the yeasty, floury surface on the cloth is kept and helps to give the bread that unique crust that baguettes are known for.

We make our Baker’s Couches from 100% unbleached organic cotton, they are hand made to order by our skilled team in our farm-based factory.

Couche cloths can be branded


If you would like more information, contact our design team on 01908 290482 or email sales@cottonroots.co.uk

Your Brand

Ethical & Sustainable Garment Certification, New products, Organic stuff, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Over the past few months the world has been turned upside down in a way that we have never seen before in our lifetime.  During this time the business world has seen winners and losers and will continue to do so over the coming years. 

At Impact Trading and Cotton Roots we have seen this as a time for change and reflection.  It has helped us look at new opportunities and ways to grow and one thing that is definitely clear is that British and ethical manufacturing is becoming more and more important to our customers. 

This has paved the way for us to help new ethically led fashion brands start up in an easy and cost effective way by introducing the ‘Your Brand’ section to our Cotton Roots website. 

A catalogue of organic cotton and recycled fabric unbranded stock garments that can be branded with the customer’s own label, embroidery and print. 

Each garment is priced to include the professional sewing in of a label, this can either be supplied by us or by the customer.  They can then opt to add on embroidery or print to customise the garment. Orders in the ‘My Brand’ range can start from as little as 50 mixed garments which makes it a low cost start up investment.

If you would like to browse the range of ethical clothing in the range please visit our website, if you would like more information or a quote please contact us on 01908 511051 or email emily@cottonroots.co.uk.

Fairtrade Fortnight Inspire You

Fairtrade Clothing, Organic stuff, , , , ,

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the ethical and environmental impacts of low quality low cost clothing, more and more businesses and organisations are turning towards Fairtrade, organic and recycled options. 

At Impact Trading and Cotton Roots we have noticed a significant move towards this recently and the great news is that the increased demand has meant that there has been a sharp rise in products available with regards to garment ranges and colours. In the next month we will be adding a range of new products including recycled fleeces, softshells, performance tops and jackets. We are also expanding our range of organic and vegan clothing.

Fairtrade organic polo shirts come in men’s and ladies in a wide range of colours. Click here to see the range

This Fairtrade Fortnight which runs from the 24th February to 8th March 2020, we are hoping that more companies will start to consider the move towards ethical and sustainable options for their future uniform and work wear solutions.

To find out more please visit our website www.cottonroots.co.uk or call us on 01908 511051

Feel Good Accessories

Ethical & Sustainable Garment Certification, Fairtrade Clothing, Organic stuff, Uncategorized, , , ,

At Impact Trading and Cotton Roots we have a huge range of eco-friendly, Fairtrade, sustainable and recycled clothing which organisations and businesses buy from us and often brand.  As well as clothing we also offer a range of accessories which have ethical certifications. 

Recycled caps and bags which are made from organic or Fairtrade cotton. We also have options for hat, scarfs and bath towels, which come in Fairtrade and organic options. Lanyards made from 100% bamboo and dyed with water-based inks which are comfortable, strong, durable and naturally antibacterial.

All these items can be branded with print or embroidery to fit nicely in to your organisation or business as well as giving you the feel good factor.

For more information and quotes on these please contact us at sales@cottonroots.co.uk

A Sweetener for You

Ethical & Sustainable Garment Certification, Fairtrade Clothing, Organic stuff, , , ,

Our new organic, Fairtrade clothing is a brilliant addition to our ethical range and we wanted to tell you more about it’s story. 

Fairtrade Organic T Shirts available from www.cottonroots.co.uk

Cotton is grown in hot countries such as India and China and is susceptible to a wide range of insect pests, these are usually controlled with a range of chemical pesticides.

Our organic cotton clothing has a whole new approach to this problem.  The farmers spray the cotton with a sugar water solution which attracts the ants.  Ants love to eat the sugar on the cotton plants and so they defend it from pest attacks.  Happy ants, pest free cotton. 

The Fairtrade organic clothing we sell is made in India and the cotton is grown there, it is picked by hand so using natural pesticides means that the farmers and pickers are also healthy.

Amazing Grains

Food Industry, Organic stuff, Organisations Wearing Fairtrade, Uncategorized, , , ,

We recently embroidered some of our Fairtrade Organic aprons for a local bakery in Olney called Amazing-Grains.  Knowing that Olney was the home of the hymn Amazing Grace we were interested to know more about the bakery and its name.

Gareth the owner was made redundant after a 30 year career in IT, he realised that his heart no longer belonged in the corporate world.

Over the years, extensive travel had opened his eyes to the fact that most other countries held bread in high esteem unlike the industrialised products passed on as bread for the lowest possible price in the UK. So after dabbling in food distribution, Gareth decided to address this issue by learning to bake “real bread”, using good quality ingredients, and an honest approach. Sales began with friends, then from the local pub, to deliveries 5 days a week, all produced from a 30 Sq ft kitchen in a tiny 2 bed cottage in Emberton, just outside Olney in North Buckinghamshire.

Now baking 4 days a week from a converted workshop in East St in Olney, Amazing-Grains produces around 300 loaves a week, using only natural ingredients, time and no processing aids, to produce breads with a flavour, second to none.

The name of the bakery was based on the hymn Amazing Grace written by the curate of Olney, John Newton and published in 1779. It is one of the most recognisable songs in the English-speaking world.

We love supplying aprons to local businesses and particularly to one that has such an interesting story.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2019

Ethical & Sustainable Garment Certification, Fairtrade Clothing, Organic stuff, Organisations Wearing Fairtrade

Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 25th Feb – 10th March 2019

Fairtrade fortnight is run for two weeks each year when campaigners, businesses, schools and groups show their support for the farmers and workers who grow our food, crops and manufacture our clothes in developing countries, people who live in some of the poorest countries in the world and who are often exploited and badly paid.

At Impact Trading and Cotton Roots we supply many businesses and groups with Fairtrade Organic clothing and have a wide range of colours in t shirts, polos, sweatshirts, hoodies as well as children’s clothing. 

We also supply beautiful heavyweight Fairtrade, Organic cotton Aprons. 

All of these products can be printed and embroidered with your branding or supplied plain.

For more information please visit:

www.cottonroots.co.uk
www.impacttrading.co.uk