Organic Cotton Should be The New Trend of Textiles
When we go to the grocery store, we try to be mindful and grab for the organic produce and snacks but, what about your clothing. What if I told you certified organic labels is just as important to look for in your clothing. Cotton is advertised as the best fiber to use because it is natural but what if I told you there is a dark underbelly to using and growing cotton. Cotton is one of the world’s largest crop grown. Regular chemically grown cotton is killing the environment, the farmers and their families, the population nearby the farmers, and uses extremely large amounts of water while also polluting the nearby water. Growing organic cotton is the best way to solve the problems chemically grown cotton has caused.
Regular vs. Organic Cotton
According to Oxford Languages when referring to food or farming methods organic means produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents. When growing organic cotton, it combines traditional, innovated, and science to benefit the environment and promotes the health of all life involved. The production natural process sustains the health of soil, people, and ecosystems instead of using chemicals. Even from seed there is already a big difference being made by growing organically. Organic cotton farmers don’t treat the seeds with any type of chemicals and are not allowed to use GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) seeds.
Since this process doesn’t require soil damaging chemicals it also promotes healthy soil and better air quality. To build healthy organic matter in the soil farmers use compost and intercropping along with crop rotation. With the organic matter in the soil, the soil is able to retain more water efficiently. Organic cotton also uses 88% less water than chemically grown cotton. Whereas chemically grown cotton uses 20,000 liters of water to produce about one t-shirt which is equal to 1 kilogram of cotton. Also, the runoff from the farms cause water pollution in nearby rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and underground aquifers causing immediate sickness or can cause sickness of a period of time from accumulation Over 90% of organic cotton farmers collect rainwater to use instead of irrigating, about 80% of the water they use is rainwater. Cotton grown with chemicals sucks water from the surrounding area causing a loss in natural habitats for plants, birds, animals, and fish. One t-shirt made with organic cotton saves about 1,982 gallons compared to cotton grown with chemicals.
To treat weeds without chemical sprays they simple just remove them by hand. When it comes to pest control instead of using pesticides, they plant trap crops around the perimeter of the cotton crop to lure pest away. They also use beneficial insects, biological and cultural practices to take of pest. Cotton treated with chemicals uses 6% of the world’s pesticides. Farmers and individuals near chemical-based farms have shown reports of developing horrible diseases and problems like, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, and asthma due to the exposure of chemicals and pesticides. Nine of the most commonly used insecticides are known to be highly toxic.
Due to the healthier soil quality organic cotton farmers only need about 10 acers of land to grow their cotton causing them to be able to grow additional crops for more income or to keep for themselves. According to Textile Exchange 84% of farmers reported community benefits due to growing organic cotton. Chemically grown cotton is hard on the soil and ends up destroying the soil after time causing farmers to have to grow their fields which means loss of habitat for local wildlife. This also causes farmers to only have room and time for grow cotton and can’t grow anything for their own consumption. Looking at these numbers and benefits it should be a rather cut and dry decision for all farms and companies to switch to organic.
How To Read Organic Labels
When it comes to shopping organic anything, it is important to read your labels, but it is even more important with products and clothes made with organic cotton. If you see a Soil Association approval on organic beauty brands that means 70% of its ingredients are organic. For a product to have the Certified Organic (CO) logo on it that means the company had to abide by strict guidelines that takes the environment in consideration through the whole production processes. Then you have the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) which is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibers. They require companies that want to have their logo on their products to be environmentally and socially responsible when producing their textiles. GOTS has two different labels that require a certain percentage of certified organic fibers. For a product to have the ‘Organic’ grade label it must contain a minimum of 95% certified organic fibers. If a product wants a ‘made with organic’ grade label, then they must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibers.
Let’s Make the Switch to Organic
Organic cotton is considered to be a preferred fiber because of its lower impacts which is defined by Textile Exchange “as a fiber, material or product that is ecologically and socially progressive; one that has been selected because it has more sustainable properties in comparison to other options. Although products and clothing made with organic cotton can sometimes cost more it is worth buying sustainably. What you are really paying for is water conservation, healthier work conditions, cleaner air, and healthier ecosystems. Let’s use our purchasing power as consumers to take control back and influence brands and companies to make the switch to organic cotton for a more sustainably made clothing and products.
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