While initially that headline might not mean anything to you, under David Basson’s leadership at Greensouce, organic cotton was sourced for the very first time to Walmart. In fact, since 1999, the company has planted over 8,000 acres of organic cotton fields.

No small feat.

Under Basson’s reign, Seattle’s Greensource is now ranked as the 9th largest user of organic cotton in the world for its very own “Greensource” and “Re-Gen” (Recycled Generation) branded apparel. According to a Greensource press release, if the company’s considerable private label production for major retailers, including Walmart (“Faded Glory”) and Kmart (“Route 66”), was taken into account, the company would actually rank much higher.

David Basson, CEO of Greensource

No matter how you feel about Walmart selling organic clothing, as a supplier for them, Greensource’s pros far outweigh the cons. The brand grows its own organic cotton crop, is building schools for its workers’ children, uses only organic cotton and other sustainable fibers and has certified all five of its manufacturing facilities according to the new Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). In addition, the company uses an online system enabling shoppers to input a code found on a garment label and track the garment’s voyage from the field to the store.

The tracking system gives customers a rare opportunity to trace their garments from field to final production using a Greensource brand product ID # on each hang tag that one can use to check the history and authenticity of the product purchased.

With all this progress soon behind Basson marking major strides in the sustainable fashion field, one can only imagine how Greensource will move forward.

Taking over the reins in January 2011 and continuing the company’s organic cotton leadership will be John Flynn, currently vice president of design and development, and Brady Hill, currently vice president of marketing, two men we’ll all keep a close watch on.

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