Over the last week, as announced, I’ve tested a pair of organic cotton jeans in just about every situation of my everyday life, and I’m quite happy with them. My partner was also delighted with them right away: they fit perfectly, make for a shapely rear end, and generally just look great. They’re very comfortable to wear, and perform well in anything I do while standing, as they don’t slip. They also have some nice details (although I find the zippered back pocket unpractical – it’s just too small for me).

Those nice details, for instance the waistband, are a bit of a problem when sitting, however *. Since waistbands tend to be very solid in jeans, especially those with only a small amount of elastic in them, they have no “give” when you sit down in them, and tend to constrict at the tummy. Also, the waistband is not adjustable, like it would be with bib overalls, for instance, which makes pulling them up over hips and rear a bit difficult. I found the jersey insert a bit tight as well, as was the elastic at the top, which was also not adjustable. I thought about getting the jeans a size larger, but then they would have been too wide in the legs and rear.

A different pair of maternity pants is simply not an alternative for me, though; I think the linen trousers and cargo pants will be too cold for me in winter. Of course, because I sit for most of the day, as well as spend a lot of time on a bicycle, the trouble with sitting in these jeans might be more conspicuous to me than to others. Like I said, they are otherwise really great, and you can tell that a lot of attention has gone into the design. It’s just that a non-adjustable waistband isn’t very practical for a big tummy.

In my next article, I’ll let you know how I found the feinstrumpfhose and maternity bra. Don’t forget to comment if you have any questions or some of your own experiences to share!

*As I wrote last week, my adventures into pregnancy actually started this time last year, when I started writing these articles for hessnatur’s German blog. Now that I’m sharing them with the American blog a year later, I’m happy to say that the observations I made in the original articles found eager listeners at hessnatur, who are always looking for ways to make their collection even better, and have worked hard to address the issues I found in my testing.

As we celebrate the Holidays, we reflect on the past year and plan for the new one.  To all of you, who have kindly supported our commitment to the environment by buying and wearing clothes that are truly sustainable, we deeply appreciate your joining the hessnatur community.  It is through your efforts that our message of respect for our planet and its people survives and prospers.  We promise to continue growing pure fibers, producing products without harmful chemicals and toxins and providing working conditions that are fair and safe.

We have said, many times, that what you wear makes a difference.  You have responded and made that difference.  For that, and so much more, we say thank you.  And we wish you and all those you love a joyful, peaceful Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.  I know you’ll join us in sending those wishes around the world.

Our best to all of you from all of us,

Wolf Luedge

… that’s what we and all the staff celebrated two months ago. Lots of families joined us in the garden at our wonderful anniversary festival – amongst others Luca and Lian, the sons of my colleague in I.T., Jens-Uwe. The boys created a small work of art, fitting for our jubilee .

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zqdqa4YNvI[/youtube]

I ran into this video on Youtube recently, which describes the idea and origins of the “happiness formula” of Bhutan in Asia. “Gross National Happiness” was placed as a priority over productivity by the king, which has now become a bit of a movement in itself.

Watch, and get happy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NiTN0chj0[/youtube]

I stumbled across this video while surfing on the net, and liked it so much I thought I’d share it on our Blog. It presents a very clear and simple explanation of what stands behind the term “Sustainability”.

Enjoy!