Benefits of Organic Cotton

20 years ago organic cotton was virtually unheard of. The 1980s were the times of acid rain, aerosol cans and depleting ozone layers. No one was thinking about organic cotton production back then. It was still an extremely niche market in the early 90s but has steadily gained steam and is becoming a large market by the close of the first decade of the 21st century.

Pesticides, Fertilizer and Dyes, Oh My!

Cotton production has been aided by chemical enhancements over the years. Pesticides are almost essential when it comes to producing a cotton crop. Certain insects feed off cotton, and if they are not stopped they could eat a large majority of a cotton corp. Pesticides are often sprayed onto cotton fields and kill these insects.

The problem? These pesticides can be harmful to the Earth and to us. Pesticides find their way into soil, water and our air. They can poison the soil, which will one day lead to the soil becoming less and less fertile. It is estimated that millions of fish are killed each year from exposure to pesticides. These chemicals get on the cotton, which in turn are made into shirts which we wear. These pesticides are being transferred to our skin from these cotton shirts.

Fertilizer is another chemical that is used in cotton production, as well as all types of farming. Fertilizer makes soil more fertile, allowing it to grow more crops. Fertilizer can be toxic if not carefully watched and over-fertilization of land can cause the roots of the plant to dry up and the land to become unable to produce.

Dyes used to color cotton shirts can be toxic. Although they do not singly produce a big threat, their combine production can be bad to our environment.

Over 99% of all cotton is cultivated using pesticides, fertilizer and dyes. It is not necessarily a bad practice, nor is it normally harmful to you. We found that people who are more environmentally conscious than others take these factors into consideration. Just because one buys a shirt that isn't organic cotton doesn't mean they are hurting the environment. It is a personal preference based on what they believe. Bottom line: If you are wearing a normal cotton t-shirt right now, don't tear it off because the cotton was cultivated using pesticides and fertilizer. These are just factors of why people choose organic cotton, not absolute reasons that you should go organic.

Organic Production to the Rescue

Organic production is a much healthier way to produce cotton. Organic cotton is produced without the use of pesticides and uses an organic fertilizer. Organic cotton producers use all natural ways to fight pests. Often alfalfa is planted to naturally fertilize cotton fields and to distract pests from consuming cotton.

With the elimination from harmful chemicals in the cotton production process, farmers work in much healthier environments. The land becomes much healthier because it is not being infected with harmful chemicals. Organic production also eliminates harmful chemicals from the treatment process. The organic treatment process uses non toxic dyes and stays away from harmful treatments such as chlorine bleaches and toxic finishers.

The Future

Organic production has risen every year and will continue to rise. 2007 saw a record production of organic cotton as close to 300,000 bales were produced across the world. This figure is still far less than 1% of total cotton production worldwide, but considering that barely anyone was producing organic cotton 20 years ago this is a good start. As people become more eco-friendly the demand for organic cotton will continue.

More and more t-shirt companies are offering organic cotton t-shirts. We found that DesignAShirt.com offers an entire page dedicated to eco-friendly t-shirts, including organic treatment processes. The price of organic cotton is going down, which means there is no better time to switch to organic cotton than now.