Wardrobe to help world

Costa Mesa resident Jennifer Capaci says she started to become more environmentally conscious when she became a mother, buying organic foods and trying to use more eco-friendly products.

“I really think about what I put in my body and what are healthy choices for my kids,” said Capaci, a mother of two boys, ages 3 and 2. “I’m not living in a cave — I’m making choices every day when it’s applicable. Luckily, this whole industry is really coming to the forefront now.”

Her passion for the environment has led her to create a new line of eco-friendly T-shirts called the Terra Collection.

The T-shirts are produced locally using organic cotton and eco-friendly dyes and inks. Each shirt has a theme, such as “Water,” “Air” or “Earth,” and buyers can choose a charity that corresponds with the shirt’s theme to get a portion of the proceeds from the sale. For example, buyers can choose to have 15% of the proceeds from the “Air” shirt, which features a light-blue cloud motif, go toward the American Lung Assn.

Jennifer Capaci’s favorite shirt is dubbed “Life.”

The fitted, light brown “Life” T-shirt has an animal collage and tree of life motif with a large, pink heart on one shoulder.

A portion of the proceeds from “Life” T-shirt sales will go toward charities like the Children’s Hunger Fund, which feeds needy children in more than 70 countries. Other charities buyers can choose to benefit from “Life” T-shirt sales include the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation; the African Wildlife Foundation; Operation USA; and Friends of Animals.

“I felt all of these charities helped support life — everything from wildlife to helping children in need,” Capaci said.

Capaci searched far and wide for environmentally friendly inks, dyes and organic cotton for the Terra Collection. She also wanted the product to be entirely sustainable, or produced locally, which proved to be a challenge.

“I had to make a compromise between green and sustainable,” she said.

She found that most fabrics are produced overseas and have to be imported. At one point, an idea for a plush doll that would benefit children’s charities had to be shelved, because she discovered there aren’t any plush toy manufacturers left in the United States.

“It’s a sad testament about globalization,” she said. “On one end, people don’t realize the cost is much greater when we have to do environmental damage to get that low cost.”

Capaci’s husband, Levi Capaci, acted as a sounding board for the T-shirt designs and was supportive of the idea of an environmentally conscious T-shirt line.

“Trying to create a product that is more environmentally friendly, you have to do a little more research,” he said.

“You have to search just a little bit harder to find the right materials and you always have to check to see that they’re really using the right water-based inks and dyes that are friendly to the environment as well.”

Terra Collection T-shirts are available from the Newport Beach boutique Halsea at 409 31st St. or at www.terracollection.com.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.