Sally Fox's naturally coloured cottons are a favourite of mine. The colours that have been developed are amazing. The fiber is easy to spin and looks great. I like to use the yarns as well, in my weaving.

Sally Fox is experiencing some problems with other cotton growers in Arizona. If we don't want to lose this fabulous resource, please write and express your concerns. Let's use the power of the Net!

The following letter was posted on the weaving newsgroup: weaving@quilt.net. I am including it in its entirety as I feel that it is important for us all to respond. If the fax line is ringing busy, an alternate number to reach Director, Shirley Conrad by phone is 602-542-0962. An e-mail address is not available.

Please feel free to pass this info around. - - - -

Dear Fiber Fans;

Sally Fox of Foxfibers and Vresis needs our help. As you probably know, she is the founder of Foxfibers, an organic grower of colored cotton and a breeder of new colors of cotton. She was more or less run out of California by the white cotton growers who were worried that her cotton would cross pollinate their fields, and denied by any local cotton gins because the felt by ginning her cotton, somehow this would pllute the white cotton.

She is currently in Wickenburg, AZ and experiencing the same problems with the growers and the state legislators here. The U.S. uses 35% of the world's cotton pesticides and 10% of all global pesticide use occurs in cotton fields. With so many people these days becoming ill with environmental diseases, organic cotton would surely be nice to rely on.

Sally's cotton is gorgeous. The colors are just incredible and it's wonderful to spin with, the yarn is excellent to weave with as well. It would be a terrible loss to handweavers and spinners to have these products denied to us. The natural colors get darker with each washing, rather than fading. The fibers in a conventionally grown white cotton tee-shirt require 1/3 pound of chemicals to dye.

To help please write:

Arizona Department of Agriculture
1688 West Adams
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Tel: (602) 542-0998
Fax: (602) 542-5420
Office of Director
Shirley J. Conrad
Rules Specialist

The deadline for comments by the public is July 7, 1997. Please help. If you use Foxfibers and are a business, please mention that in you letter.

Sally's Address is:
Vresis
P.O. Box 87
Wickenburg, AZ 85358-0087
Tel: (520) 684-5022
Fax: (520) 684-7299

Thank you,
Michelle in Prescott