Fair Trade Organic Cotton
Organic Cotton is cotton produced without the need for toxic chemicals such as pesticides and insecticides. Over the past 10 years, the organic cotton industry has grown in huge amounts. In 2007, organic cotton production in the USA doubled!
Retailers now understand the value in using organic cotton - consumers have been made aware of the products benefits so actively choose organic cotton products and brands.
Defining Organic Cotton?
Organic cotton is grown using methods that have a low environmental impact. That excludes the use of toxic chemicals and ensures the growth of the crop occurs in a sustainable way. Only environmentally safe pesticides and insecticides can be used on organic cotton.
Sustainability
Sustainability is key to the ethos of organic crops. Organic cotton is produced with sustainability in mind - we want to have the resources to continue growing the crop on the same land in 100 or 200 years time. Traditional cotton crops use far too many cheimicals on the land, poisoning the land, leeching out nutrients and leading to environmental destruction
Fair Trade on Organic Cotton
Often, in a large capitalist economy like the United States, major corporations to use their buying power to reduce the price of goods. The problem with this practice is that often these goods are already being obtained at the expense of third world workers, who are providing them at an very low profit margin in the first place. It forces them to make a choice between working for near-slave-wages, or not working at all. Organic cotton is also usually Fair Trade Cotton. Which means that the manufacturers of the fibre are compensated at a fair, living wage.
Because organic farming practices and fair trade purchasing decisions are more more expensive, those costs are passed on to the consumer. However, when considering the benefits for using Organic cotton (environmental, health, fairness to third world) the choice is easy.
Read more at http://www.sustainablecotton.org/
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