Why use Organic Cotton?
Organic cotton is cotton that is better for the environment as well as the consumers using organic cotton products. Organic cotton is grown without harmful pesticides. The cotton plants in organic cotton farming are also not genetically modified. In 2007, 24 countries world-wide were producing commercial quantities or organic cotton. The growth in the market has been huge - people have seen the health benefits and environmental benefits from organic cotton and it’s production has been growing at between 40-50% per year.
The only drawback of organic cotton is that it costs slightly more to manufacture. However the benefits are numerous, especially if you value your health and the environment around you.
Some of the side effects of conventional cotton production include:
- High levels of chemicals used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton. Cotton production uses huge amounts of chemicals to combat pests, more than any other crop. These chemicals are polluting the environment.
- Even more chemicals are used in the processing of the cotton. Those chemicals also pollute the air and surface water.
- Any chemicals in the cotton then have the side effect of possibly irritating the consumers’s skin. They are dangerous chemicals - do you want to be wearing something with traces of residual chemicals?
Organic Cotton - Environment benefits!
Using organic materials protects the environment of our planet and your health. Reducing exposure to harmful toxic chemicals in traditional cotton production is especially important when it comes to the health of your loved ones, especially your baby. When a baby is developing, the last thing they need is to be wearing garments containing synthetic chemicals which may be toxic. The health consequences can be drastic, as studies have shown some of the chemicals to contribute to illnesses as serious as asthma and cancer. Choosing the organic alternative is the easy way to protect yourself and your family.
Buying organic cotton also supports farmers in your country. In the US, approximately 7,500 acres of organic cotton was grown in 2007. The number is increasing rapidly as people come to see the advantages of organic cotton far outweighing the risks.
Demand is being driven by apparel and textile companies that are expanding their 100% organic cotton program and developing programs that blend small percentages of organic cotton with their conventional cotton products.
Some further reasons why the health of the planet is affected by your choice of organic cotton.
- Traditional Cotton production uses approximately 20% to 28% of the world’s insecticides!
- Traditional Cotton production also uses 10% of the pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants.)
- 10% of all pesticides sold for use in the United States, were used on cotton in 1997!
- Over 2 BILLION pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to conventional cotton in 2001. It is a highly fertilized crop (4th most fertilized)
- The EPA half of the pesticides used on Cotton in 2000 to be “possible” or “known” human carcinogens (acephate, dichloropropene, diuron, fluometuron, pendimethalin, tribufos, and trifluralin). These chemicals cause cancer!
Turkey, China and India also produce large amounts of Organi Cotton as well as 8 countries in Africa. It is truly a global crop which is exploding in popularity as people realise the benefits for humankind.
Please enjoy this site, which highlights the benefits of the organic cotton crop and shows some of the great products available which contain only organic cotton.