DIALOGUE
Organic, Fair Trade and Fashionable:
Taking Organic Cotton
from Hippie to Hip
An Interview with Marci Zaroff, the Founder of Under the Canopy
Marci Zaroff, founder of Under the Canopy, was into eco-fashion
before eco-fashion was cool. In fact, this organic cotton pioneer
actually trademarked the term back in 1995. Today
though, green is the new black due in large part to
Zaroff’s efforts to educate consumers and develop
the organic textiles market. After working hand-in-
hand with Whole Foods to bring organic textiles to re-
tail, Zaroff took the story of organic cotton to the
masses and now her eco-fashions, including every-
thing from clothing to linens, are being sold by
retailers ranging from Macy’s, Origins and Bed Bath &
Beyond, to Sears and Target.
Zaroff has not only enlightened consumers on the hazards of conventional cotton farming, but also forged the fair trade organic cotton movement. In India, she helped create
healthy, economically viable communities for over 8000 cotton farmers, and she is now taking this a step further by working with Transfair to develop a U.S. fair trade certification for
textiles. She also assisted in the development of the Global Organic Textiles Standard
(GOTS), helping drive authenticity in the organic and eco-textiles market.
