FUTURESAVERS

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FUTURESAVER OF THE WEEK ENDING 5-1-99

James M. Vreeland, Jr. is the researcher on ancient textiles of Peru who sought and found colored cotton plant varieties which "experts" said had disappeared. Naturally pigmented cotton was used in ancient Peruvian textiles. Organically-grown, naturally pigmented cotton has been revived and is now the basis of a thriving industry which produces clothing that is environmentally superior to chemically dyed cotton and synthetics. Vreeland gave up his graduate studies in archaeology and turned to ethnoarchaeology. He learned from the Mochica Indians who still maintained some of the cultivars of the myriad hues grown 2000 years ago. The story of colored cotton began in the Andes 5000 years ago. Naturally colored cotton reappeared as a fashion item in the early 1990s and has gained momentum ever since. Organic cotton is now grown in Peru and in half a dozen other countries. Vreeland's recent article is in the April 99 Scientific American. Let us hope the use of toxic pesticides will wither and die so the Earth can be free at last. For finding the best of the past and making it bloom into the future, James M. Vreeland, Jr. has been named Futuresaver of the Week. Click the links below for more information.

Links to other sites on the Web

Vreeland (article)
Sustainable Cotton
Peru Naturtex & Founder Vreeland