Organic Cotton
Organic Cotton: One of Nature’s Greatest Gifts
Organic cotton is the purest form of cotton, grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and defoliants and is grown without genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Organic-certified farmers grow organic cotton with the help of natural fertilizers, beneficial insects, and innovative weeding techniques. These systems, at the same time, replenish and help maintain soil fertility while enhancing biodiversity that protects air and water.
There are several reasons why organic textiles are kinder, cleaner and better:
- Organic fibres are grown without using harmful pesticides or genetically modified organisms so promote a healthier farm and environment.
- Harmful manufacturing chemicals are not allowed in organic textile production, so it’s better for wildlife and workers.
- Social conditions are high in organic textile factories, and organic cotton production can help farmers find a way out of poverty.
- Animal welfare is at the heart of organic systems, so is better for animals.
- Organic textiles don’t contain allergenic, carcinogenic or toxic chemicals.
Organic Cotton & Sensitive Skin
Cotton and silk are the two best natural fabrics for sensitive skins. Cotton is absorbent and cool, silk is more expensive than cotton but is warmer.
Care should be taken when selecting clothing for children who have skin problems.
It can be difficult for children or indeed anyone who suffers from eczema to find comfortable clothing, particularly when there has been a flare up of the condition.
Clothing can aggravate eczema as skin can be very hot and heat increases itch.
Basic Tips:
Avoid harsh synthetic fabrics.
Use thin layers rather than one thick layer of clothing
Organic Cotton Clothing is always a good choice for a baby with sensitive skin.
Organic Cotton V's Regular Cotton
First, there’s a major difference between regular cotton and organic cotton.
Here are some facts you may not know about conventionally grown cotton:
Cotton farming takes up only about 2.5% of the world’s total farmland, but uses 16% of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop.
Other environmental consequences of the elevated use of chemicals in the non organic cotton growing methods consist of:
- High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton.
- Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts in total for 10-16% of the world's pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants).
- Chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters.
- Decreased biodiversity and shifting equilibrium of ecosystems due to the use of pesticides.
- Each acre of cotton harvested every year in the U.S. is sprayed with an average of 13 pounds of pesticides, herbicides, and defoliants.
- The World Health Organization classifies half of cotton crop chemicals each year as “hazardous”.
- Toxic defoliating chemicals are used to harvest the cotton.
And this long list doesn’t even include the billions of pounds of synthetic fertilizers used for cultivating cotton. The runoff from these fertilizers can create aquatic "dead zones" in waterways, killing off species of aquatic life.