Renton's Greensource sees steady demand for 'green' clothing

At a nondescript warehouse in Renton, longtime apparel-industry executive David Basson and his small staff hope to show that eco-friendly clothes can gain mainstream acceptance despite a bad economy.

They might just be the largest local player in environmentally conscious clothing you've never heard of.

Basson's 16-year-old company, The Source, designs organic-cotton clothing sold by the likes of Macy's, Kohl's and Wal-Mart.

The Source's sustainable-products division, Greensource, was created in 2000 and now represents about 80 percent of its annual sales. This year, sales are up 10 percent and top $60 million, Basson said.

Greensource ranks ninth worldwide among clothing and home-furnishings brands for its use of organic cotton, and that's not counting its considerable private-label production, according to Organic Exchange, a nonprofit trade group. Others in the top 10 include Wal-Mart, Nike, H&M, Zara and Pottery Barn.

"Our M.O. is to believe in what we do and quietly get on with our business," said Basson, formerly of Sun Sportswear in Kent. "It's not our style to be 'Rah, Rah! We're the best.' We're lucky that along the way we've grown our business."

Even so, Basson is making more of an effort to spread the word about Greensource. Last month, he spoke at a gathering of organic-cotton businesses in downtown Seattle, where many participants expressed a belief that steady sales of environmentally safe clothes will translate to a booming business in better economic times.

A new survey for professional-services firm Deloitte supports the first part of that premise: A fifth of consumers nationwide said they plan to buy more eco-friendly gifts this holiday season, the same portion as last season.

And nearly half, or 47 percent, expressed a willingness to pay more for a "green" gift than a non-"green" gift.

"People want their purchases to be more meaningful to them," said Matthew Mole, president of organic-wool wholesaler Vermont Organic Fiber. Even in an economic crunch, he added, people are noticing eco-friendly clothes and saying, "Wow, that speaks to my values and makes sense."

Greensource uses cotton grown without toxic fertilizers or pesticides and is certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard, which prohibits toxic chemicals during the processing phases.

The cotton comes from many countries, including India, Turkey and Pakistan, where Greensource has worked with textile mills to build schools and health-care clinics for workers and their families in the Baluchistan region.

The company's organic-cotton clothing can be found under the Greensource label at Macy's and under the ReGen label at Kohl's. Its clothing also is sold on a private-label basis to Wal-Mart, where it's part of the Faded Glory Organics line.

At Walmart stores, Greensource's T-shirts sell for $7 to $10, while its jeans go for between $15 and $18 — roughly 10 percent more than conventional-cotton products.

The Source had been selling conventional-cotton products to Wal-Mart-owned Sam's Club in 2005 when a senior-level buyer, whom Basson fondly described as a "hybrid-driving organic-food nut," learned about the company's foray into organic-cotton production.

Until then, the Greensource division enjoyed a small but dedicated following of eco-conscious consumers through such retailers as Gaiam, which specializes in "green-living" and yoga products.

At the buyer's urging, Sam's Club ordered 200,000 yoga-inspired tops and 200,000 matching pants from Greensource. They sold out within a month, Basson said, and soon Greensource was filling large organic-label orders for Wal-Mart.

Greensource's expansion into Sam's Club, recalled Mole, "was a little hard to take for some old-timers, because it was going mainstream. But for a lot of us, it was amazing."

Today, the company employs about 40 people and has offices in New York; Bentonville, Ark. (Wal-Mart's headquarters); Los Angeles; Karachi, Pakistan; and Managua, Nicaragua.

Standing in the Renton warehouse, Basson pointed to a row of stacked boxes filled with conventional-cotton T-shirts that would soon go on sale at Walmart stores for $6 each.

For now, Basson said, the production costs associated with organic-cotton apparel make it impossible to sell eco-friendly T-shirts for as little as $6 and still turn a profit. So the company continues to meet a consumer demand for cheap conventional tees until production costs fall to the same level.

"Our objective is to hit price-parity," Basson said. "And then we can get rid of any conventional product we're producing."

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com