Cotton As A Crop
February 14, 2009
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY ORGANIC COTTON CLOTHING HAS BECOME SO POPULAR? Read more here…
So we’ve covered Chemicals In Cosmetics and Safe Alternatives. We’ve talked about Eating Organic and the foods that are most important to choose Organically grown vs. Conventionally grown, but what about the final frontier…clothing.
Why is it important to consider wearing Organic Cotton vs. Conventional Cotton?
A couple of reasons to consider:
Pesticides in Our Clothing:
Cotton is one of the most heavily pesticide laden crops in the world. In fact, it takes 1/3 pound of chemicals just to make one cotton T-Shirt. According to the EPA, 7 of the 15 chemicals used in conventionally grown cotton are classified to be either “known” or “suspected” carcinogens.
There is a vicious cycle in cotton farming. One of the pests that infest the cotton crop is the Boll Weevil. The Boll Weevil is a beetle like insect that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. It is estimated that farmers lose $300 Million in revenue per year to the Boll Weevils infestation of cotton crops. As a result, many harmful pesticides are used to control their infestation, but there is a catch. A vicious cycle occurs for the cotton crop and the Boll Weevil. It looks like this:
Cotton is grown à the Boll Weevil infests à Massive amounts of pesticides (such as DDT) are used to control infestation à pesticides kill not only the Boll Weevil but other insects, both helpful and harmful à eco-systems, water sources, air quality and overall health are impacted à predatory animals are destroyed, so infestation of other pests occurs à the Boll Weevil mutates to become resistant to the pesticides used à New, More, Stronger Pesticides are used à Cycle begins again and gets worse each time.
Why is this a concern for us consumers? Because cotton is such a common material, especially in children’s clothing it is advantageous to seek out Organic alternatives. Like cosmetics, we wear our clothing against the biggest organ in our body; the skin. Because the skin is porous, our skin absorbs not only what we put in our body, but what we put on our body as well. Therefore to have all of these pesticides upon our skin all day, everyday may certainly have a negative impact on our long-term health.
Pesticides in our Food:
Believe it or not, cotton or byproducts of cotton are not just found in clothing but in our food as well. We spent a lot of time talking about eating Organically, and here’s another reason to consider as well. Cottonseed Oil otherwise referred to as “gin trash” is used as a Hydrogenated (trans fat or “Bad” fat) oil in snack food products such as Potato Chips, Cheetoes, even Tortilla Chips to name a few. “Crisco” is actually cottonseed oil. Not only is this oil extremely pesticide laden, but cotton crops are also one of the largest Genetically Modified Crops in the world. Not the ideal “health” food for our growing babies, or ourselves! So again, read labels, be a conscious consumer and whenever possible…go Organic!!
Social Responsibility:
As you can see, it is no surprise that conventional cotton farming has huge environmental implications. The World Health Organization addresses the concern of Acute Pesticide Poisoning (AAP), which is basically, and epidemic throughout the world especially in developing countries. In these developing countries another vicious cycle occurs. As I mentioned Conventional Cotton is one of the most highly pesticide laden crops in the world as well as one of the largest Genetically Modified crops as well. Here in lies the problem:
Genetically Modified seeds are used to plant the cotton crop à These GM seeds need synthetic pesticides and fertilizers to grow à Many of these GM seeds sold by giant companies are sterile à Farmers are forced to use any profits to buy more seeds, pesticides and fertilizers.
How does this happen? In conventional cotton farming, because of the environmental impact of the pesticides used, the natural eco-systems are killed as well. So there is no “ “Sustainable” farming methods in this process. As a result, there is nothing to facilitate healthy soil so it becomes depleted and needs more fertilizers and synthetic chemicals to grow the crop, if it can be grown at all. Over time the land becomes barren and the farmer is left with no crop at all.
What’s more, the government has a role in this too. As of now, conventional American farmers are given subsidies by the government. Organic farmers are not eligible for these subsidies…hence a higher price tag on Organic items. Unfortunately, even for the conventional farmer, these subsidies do not always help to offset the debt to the chemical companies and the cycle continues.
What Can You Do?
Go Organic! I’m the first to admit this is the hardest area for me to go Organic. First of all it is more of a challenge to find Organic clothing for Emilia, much less myself. However there are a few affordable brands out there. I think you will be pleasantly surprised:
Old Navy
The Gap (they also have CUTE bedding!)
Hanna Andersson
To name a few…
If you want to check out Organic Clothing for yourself, check out:
Gaiam
Edun
Banana Republic
I hope that this article has helped to clarify some of the concerns of conventional cotton farming and the impact on our global society. Again, as we move towards the future, we can have an impact with our dollar. By being a conscious consumer, requesting (or demanding) that Organic products become available to us, not only will they be accessible but affordable as well.
I hope you found this article helpful for both you and for your family.
If you would like to view our online collection of
Organic Baby Clothing please click HERE.
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