Background
The company’s founders are Daniel and Marylou Sanders. They
have successfully worked together on several previous ventures.
The Sanders’ first project together was Sardine Productions,
which was a graphic design and screen printing company (1980-1983).
Accounts were primarily concentrated in the music industry:
artists and entities including; Carly Simon, Kool and the Gang,
Twisted Sister, The Blasters, Peter Allen and Rolling Stone
magazine.
In 1983 they formed M.L. Marsh Designs, which featured better
contemporary sportswear. The company primarily focused on high
end, novelty knits sold to better specialty and department
stores. In 1985, Marylou received a prestigious “Tommy” award
in the printed dress category. M.L. Marsh maintained its offices
in New York City from 1984-1988 and later moved to Hackensack,
New Jersey.
Ecosport, Inc. was co-founded in 1991 by the Sanders’ and
Edward Mandeau. Ecosport was the first company to mass produce
garments from organically grown cotton. The company enjoyed
immediate success as it was a major catalyst in spawning the
ecologically responsible fashion industry. In addition to launching
its own brand, the company helped to develop organic cotton
programs for companies such as; Nike, Ralph Lauren, Danskin,
Patagonia, Esprit, and Levi’s. Ecosport became known as an
industry pioneer and for innovative fiber blends combining
organic cotton with hemp, flax, tencel, recycled cotton and
ecospun (recycled soda bottles). In 1994 and in1995 Daniel
was named as a finalist in the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award
competition. In 1996, he served as president of the National
Organic Cotton Association (NOCA), and currently serves on
the board of directors of the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP).
The company relocated to Asheville, North Carolina in 1999
as a strategic move to be closer to the mills. The following
year, controlling interest in the company was sold to Gaiam
Inc., a publicly traded company and a market leader in health
and wellness products.
Commitment
Spiritex is dedicated to using the collective knowledge and
expertise of its management team to facilitate the creation
and expansion of markets for responsibly produced fabrics,
apparel, and home products. The adherence to a “direct to the
source” approach, on all levels of production, optimizes competitive
pricing advantages.
Goals
In the past decade we have experienced the explosive growth
in the market for organic and pesticide free foods. Recent
market research indicates that fiber for textiles constitutes
the next major frontier and growth opportunity for the organic
products industry. Spiritex is determined to play an important
and collaborative role in this worthy effort.
The primary goal is to provide fine, buttery soft, organic
cotton fabrics and finished products that anyone would be proud
to own or utilize. The aim is to be exemplary in order to enhance
the eco-fiber industry as a whole.
Our next objective is to offer a steady and reliable supply
of innovative products that keep pace with the growing and
emerging marketplace for responsibly and fair made textile
products.
For further information about our company please go to:
www.spiritex.net
A good source for organic cotton information is:
www.sustainablecotton.org
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