Synergy Organic Clothing Reivew

I discovered Synergy Organic Clothing a few months ago, and when I discovered them my first thought was, "Why hasn't anyone told me about them!?" This is an organic cotton clothing company that is GOTS certifed. They have stylish unique clothing unlike other organic brands on the market. They're not your basic t-shirt and yoga pant company, which many organic brands tend to be. They have actual retail stores in California, but also sell on their website and through Amazon. Ethos Collection has also featured some of their clothing.

To be clear, I can't afford their clothes. I can't work much due to my illness and sensitivities, and my husband teaches at a state college. We're not rich, and our budget is limited. I won't be able to buy any of their clothing at normal price. They have had some incredible sales, though, making their clothing very affordable. When it comes to clothing, I'm very opportunistic. I only buy organic, so I only buy when it's on sale or clearance. I've been able to slowly build up a decent wardrobe that is *safe* for me to wear this way.

A few months ago Synergy had a special in which you paid $20 + shipping for one last-season article of clothing, but you didn't know what they would send you. I took the bait. They sent me this adorable summer dress (please excuse the poor lighting - it's the only full length mirror in the house and it's in the room with the worst lighting):

The dress is super cute and it's so me! The only problem is that I ordered it in a medium and it's about as tight as possible. Normally I'm between a small and medium, but after this experience I read some reviews and I learned that Synergy tends to run small.

I'm 5'5", between 135-140 lbs (I fluctuate a lot), and tend to be a size medium or size 8 in American sizes. According to their website size chart, I will fit a medium very snugly or a large a bit loosely. I'm right in between sizes, which is quite irritating to work with.

So this month they're having a fantastically massive sale. Except my sale was even better: until October 11th they took an extra 50% off the sale prices with a special promo code. It was the best organic sale I've ever seen. I'm sure they were losing money on it. I'm sure they're going to offer this type of sale again, so it might be worth signing up for their emails. I took the bait again, only I ordered everything in size large. I'm less impressed with the company after this recent purchase. Let me show you through pictures...

I thought I was buying this top:


I ended up with this:



I didn't think I was getting a dolman top. In fact, the model photo makes it appear that the cut is entirely different from what I got. I nearly returned this because I'm not a fan of dolman cut sleeves, but I decided to make it work for me since it was so inexpensive. It's a bit loose in some areas and a bit snug in others. I'm not sure how this would actually fit on someone carrying more weight than me - I'm very confused by the sizing. It looks a bit too big on me, but then when I reach my arms forward the cut of the sleeves pulls the back so much that it feels a bit snug. This was a disappointing buy. I would be curious to see how much different the medium would have been on me.



I thought I was buying this dress:


I ended up with this:




This dress is interesting. It did shrink in the wash. When I first pulled it out of the packaging and put it up next to me the length was down to my mid calf. Not exaggerating. This was LONG. After washing it shrunk to just under my knees. I have a long torso with short legs, generally wear a petite pant, so I expect dresses and skirts to be longer on my legs than intended. The skirt portion of the dress fits about right. I have large hips, so I tend to need roomy skirts and pants. The top portion of the dress is a little large, but not too big. It does not fit the way it does on the model. The edges of the long collar curls under itself all the way to the seam at my waist. It's not a flat edge as shown on the model. The shoulders are a little too roomy, but not so large it looks bad. I think I needed a medium top with a large bottom to this dress. Sigh. Part of that is my body is weird, but I think the company needs to alter its sizing.


I thought I was buying this tunic:


And I did get it:


Yay, this one has no issues! It's as expected! It is a little too large in the shoulders, but just barely. My only complaint was that it didn't come in green. I have a dress code at work of either solid green or solid black shirts. I've been looking for a green tunic, but oh well. I really love this top. A lot. It's super comfortable, is the right length to cover my generous hips for modesty sake, is a cute color, and is safe for my chemically sensitive body!

The pants:

The bootcut yoga pants I'm wearing in these photos are from Fisher's Finery. Click the link to go to the pants I bought. They're made from bamboo with organic cotton. They won't work for many of you because they do have spandex in them. They don't seem to bother me, thankfully. In this case I thought I was buying their charcoal color, but they sent me black. I typically don't wear black due to my light skin color - I just don't like black on me. Black dyes also tend to be the most irritating to people with sensitive skin. I wasn't happy about them sending me the wrong color, but I haven't reacted to them and they're incredibly comfortable, so I just kept them. I ordered a size up purposefully so that they wouldn't be skin tight. I didn't want them to show off my butt. As it turns out, the large is still form fitting and shows off my butt, but they don't feel tight against my skin. There is some give to them, which I like. They work perfectly with my new Synergy tunic. ;)  You can read my review on Amazon. 


So... in conclusion...
Overall I really like Synergy Organic Clothing. I think they're doing a wonderful thing by making GOTS certified organic cotton clothing in stylish feminine designs. They're countering the fast fashion industry with well-made clothing designed to last. The fabric should hold up, and the style will look good as time goes on. As someone with MCS I really appreciate this company making safe stylish clothing that is more affordable (even at full price) than many other organic clothing brands.

My only complaint is their sizing. Ideally, check them out at their California retail locations so that you can try on the clothes before you buy. I will hesitate to buy from them again simply due to the odd sizing, but if I can manage to loose another 10 lbs then I think all of their mediums will fit me (when losing 10 lbs would mean going down to a small in other brands, like PACT.)

I do recommend. Check them out! Just take careful measurements of your body before placing an order. :)


(Thank you, Mom, for taking the photos!) ;)

Stink! Movie Review and Link to Watch it for Free

https://stinkmovie.com/

I've been looking forward to watching Stink! for at least a year now, but I haven't had access to it on any of my streaming accounts. For the month of October, 2016 it's streaming for free. Just click the link above and watch it right on the website for free.

Why are they streaming it for free? Because it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and nothing says you support breast cancer better than Susan G. Komen, right? After all, the "charity" raises money by selling perfumes, lotions, clothing, shoes, hair products, and more all containing known human carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, known to cause breast cancer. Yes, you read that right. Susan G. Komen raises money and support to find a cure for breast cancer through products that cause breast cancer... with whatever is money is left after salary. This movie is meant to educate you on how to avoid getting breast cancer by avoiding those ingredients that are known human carcinogens.

Stink! is another in a line of documentaries about the actual science and politics behind using untested, unregulated synthetic chemicals in the majority of the products in our country today. I can't say "in our world today" because most other countries actually regulate these same synthetic chemicals and refuse to allow them to be used in their countries. Because they're not proven safe. Two great documentaries that came before Stink! are The Human Experiment (by Sean Penn) and Toxic Hot Seat. The Human Experiment was a very basic, not hard hitting introduction to the problem of untested, unregulated synthetic chemicals that are not proven safe being in most of our everyday products. I was happy it was made, but it won't convert any skeptics. Toxic Hot Seat focuses on the rate of sickness and death in firefighters since flame retardant chemicals have been added to all of our furniture. It was a bit too long and too dense, as if it were an actual PubMed study in film version, but it goes to show how much there is to say on the matter and how complicated the politics are. Even if you just watch the first 30 minutes of it you'll have enough information to make better furniture choices - it's that hard-hitting.

But Stink! is easily my favorite of them all so far. It's by a father and husband who lost his wife to breast cancer and wants to protect his two daughters from developing cancer too. He bought his children pajamas from the store Justice for Christmas, but when they opened the pajamas they were assaulted with a powerful smell. He wanted to know what the synthetic smell was, so he made many phone calls to Justice and they refused to tell him what ingredients are added to the clothing or for what purpose. So he sent the pajamas to a lab to be tested, and the results showed synthetic chemicals that are known human carcinogens and actually banned. The movie goes from there, exploring the dangers in perfumes, cleaners, body care products, car wash, clothing, furniture, etc. He shows interviews from C-Span in which John Kerry and other well known politicians grill people in the chemical industry. He personally interviews politicians and those working in the chemical industry. He personally interviews the CEO of Justice who refuses to apologize or acknowledge any dangers in his clothing line. You'll come to understand the politics very well. He did an excellent job in this film!

So please, for your own health and for the health of everyone around you, please watch this film. It's FREE for the month of October. You can't tell me you're too busy to find time for this movie in an entire month. You can't tell me you're not interested, because if you're alive you need to be interested in this massive assault on human health. Why am I so passionate? Because cancer isn't the only illness that these unsafe synthetic chemicals cause. I personally have been affected. I have a disease called Multiple Chemical Sensitives that's at the heart of my chronic illnesses. I have a difficult time going in public without getting sick due to all the toxins people wear and are in most buildings, meaning I can't just go on living my life normally. It's impossible.