UK

Child Fashion

The importance of choosing quality leotards cannot be underestimated in providing the correct fit for your child. More and more dance teachers are allowing their students to wear their own choice of leotard, so there is a range of factors to consider when buying yours so we thought wed outline a few of them here:

Firstly, does your school follow a regulatory body?
Before you purchase your dance leotard, check with your dance teacher whether your school follows a certain regulation such as RAD or ISTD. There are different uniform requirements for different exams, so your child may start in a short sleeved leotard but change to a sleeveless dance leotard as they progress through different grades.

This creates unity amongst dance students and differentiates pupils as they reach different milestones of achievement. As they move up through different grades, the style and colour of leotard may change. Different uniform requirements may also be expected for different styles of dance such as Tap, Modern and Ballet. Most schools provide information on uniform requirements and its worth checking on your dance schools website if they have one. If not, you can always talk to your childs dance teacher.

Different styles make a huge difference
There are a whole host of different dance leotards to choose from, but long sleeved, sleeveless and short sleeved leotards are the most common when it comes to childrens leotards. If your child is a little anxious to wear a sleeveless leotard, short and long sleeved leotards are great in providing a little extra cover. Polo necks are also available in lycra and velvet fabrics which are great for modern and tap. If your child would like an attached frill or skirt, these are also available and look great on younger dancers. These types of leotard are more commonly available in nylon lycra but you can also find cotton lycra leotards with chiffon attached skirts.

Fashion leotards with more intricate strap designs are generally more limited to adult leotards. However, an increasing number of leotards with fashionable designs such as criss-cross straps, spaghetti straps and low backs are becoming available to children which further increases your choice.

Ensure that you get the correct size
When purchasing your dance leotard online, ensure that you check the returns policy. When buying childrens leotards, it can be difficult to know the exact size that you will require, particularly if your child is in between sizes and if youd like to have a bit of growing room for your child. Ensure that the returns policy allows you to return for refund or an exchange on your dance leotard in case you need to exchange it for a different size.

When your child tries their leotard on at home or in a shop, allow them to do a few simple movements to see whether there is any irritation and whether there is a suitable amount of growing room. If you get the leotard too large though, there may be the risk of the leotard falling down off the shoulders. Equally, if the leotard is too small it may cause some discomfort in areas such as under the arms.

Capezio and Bloch Leotards
Capezio and Bloch provide excellent choice of style, design and quality to all their dance leotards and now provide a large variety of childrens leotards. A number of these are in cotton with a mixture of nylon to give better stretch but also breathability. More leotards are also available in different choices of colours, purple and pink colours are particularly popular with children. Dont ignore other makes as well, Roch Valley do a variety of different styles for children.

Other fabrics are also available
There are always new innovations in material printing such as stripes, polka dots, rainbow and animal prints, as welll as new bright colours such as fluorescent, metallics, holograms and velours. This means that if you have an outfit that you really need to stand out for a festival, show or competition, printed fabrics are ideal.

Its worth having a look online to compare prices, but check the returns policy. When it comes to looking online, the prices may differ depending on the leotard brand, material, and design but be sure you dont spend a fortune because most leotards for girls are very reasonably priced.

I. Evans is a resident writer for Dance Gear Direct Ltd., a UK company specialising in competitively priced quality dance wear. Visit http://www.dancegeardirect.co.uk/ for more information about ballet shoes and jazz shoes.

Clothing

Cotton is a versatile crop and is used for a vast variety of products and almost any type of fabric can be made from it. It is also very comfortable and durable. All these uses make it one of the most popular and widely traded commodities on earth.

Cotton is a globally important fibre, providing returns to many small farmers in developing countries. Fairtrade cotton has just been released in the UK providing job security and greater incomes to farmers. But the downfall is that most cotton is produced in a way that causes great damage to the environment as is it is one of the most chemical intensive crops in the world. High productivity comes at great environmental and health costs.

So serious are the negative impacts of chemical-intensive agricultural production, that momentum for change has grown considerably in recent years. The trend toward more environmentally friendly production methods is mainly due to enlightened companies under pressure of increased environmental regulation and competition, and informed consumers calling for greater social and environmental accountability. In many African countries with lax environmental controls, farmers can apply nearly one-third of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for every pound of cotton harvested. Some of these chemicals are classified as the most toxic around and the negative impacts can be severe. The simple act of growing and harvesting the amount of cotton fibre needed to make a T-shirt takes an enormous toll on the earths air, water, and soil, and has significant impacts on the health of people in cotton growing areas. These carcinogenic chemicals can leave residues on the skin, and it is now argued that these are associated with allergies. Organic cotton is therefore kinder to the skin. For more information visit the Pesticide Action Network site at http://www.pan-uk.org/.

Organic cotton begins with living soil. This means the soil has not had any chemicals used in it for at least three years and it has been enriched with compost and other organic matter. These replace synthetic fertilizers that are harmful to the health.

Organic cotton production has increased 5-fold in the past 4 years. The UK is among the worlds fastest growing markets. Each year, thanks to organic cotton, more cotton farmers around the world are able to minimise their effect on their health from pesticide exposure.

There are also signs that organic cotton is moving out of its niche market into the mainstream with increased interest on the part of supermarkets and large companies. Marks and Spencers and the Top Shop have recently launched organic and fairtrade clothing ranges to meet the growing market that started with organic food and then moving into non food areas such as cotton and paints.

For those of you that are parents, Clean Slate Clothing has introduced accountability to the clothes which children wear everyday by selling the worlds first Fairtrade and Organic School Uniforms.

Ethical companies also need to move beyond selling organic cotton clothes to ensuring that they are using environmentally friendly dyes and recycled materials with the minimum of packaging and literature.

Find ethical retailers selling organic and fair trade clothes here

Davinos Greeno works for the organic directory . This green directory lists 100s of Organic Food and Drink Companies and Eco Jobs and Campaigning Videos