Who Cares About Organic Cotton??

I mean srsly. Let’s not get carried away with this organic thing.

Maybe like some of you, I didn’t particularly care, until I thought about the entire process from planting to manufacturing; all that happens before an item comes to me. And I’d like to share how I came to care.

Let’s start with seeds. The seeds are infused with chemicals (insecticides, fungicides) even before they get into the farmers’ hands. A particular chemical company (*ahem* Monsanto *ahem*) uses monopolistic practices to force farmers into buying their, and only their seeds. Why, it’s unAmerican!

Because of conventional, but poor mono-cropping practices, the soil must be boosted with chemical fertilizers. Then heavy irrigation is required, pouring water through these chemical-laden plants and soils, and then all this chemicaled water ends up in our rivers, oceans and water table.

From New International magazine www.newint.org

The workers are exposed to these chemicals and take them home to their family — not the present the kids were hoping for.  We’re not just talking about the farmers in the wealthiest nation in the world (us,) but also the poor in Pakistan, India and Nicaragua. In these and other poor(er) countries, the equipment is old, dysfunctional, without any regulations and much of the chemicals can be wasted, leaching directly into the soil and waters. Laws may keep workers as safe as financially desirable here, but not so in the poor countries, where children play in fields adjacent to the crops.

Making a garment or blanket requires more chemicals such as bleach and formaldehyde. Remnants of it stay on the items sitting on the shelves. See what Australia thinks of formaldehyde.

Cotton is one of the most widely grown and chemically-intensive crops in the world.

Enter Organic Cotton

On the other hand, organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low negative impact on the environment.  It is grown with crop-rotation management to keep the soil rich, thereby eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers. Cropping of anything can be a dangerous due to the very  nature of the job, but at least the workers and their family do not need to be breathing in and carrying home the toxic chemicals. Organic cotton products are processed without the use of harmful chemicals, so the sewers, the handlers, nor you, the consumer are exposed to it.

Did you know that organic cotton is softer and more durable than conventional cotton? Conventional cotton is weakened by the chemical processes it is subjected to, while  organic cotton is natural, breathable, and soft, just the way God intended. And they are available and affordable now more than ever — Pottery Barn and Patagonia have jumped on the clean cotton campaign wagon.

My household is nowhere near filled with organic cotton, but as more farmers care for our resources, as the prices drop and, more items are available I’ll be looking to include them into our life, just as I have with organic food and non-toxic home products.

Because it’s not just about me and my family; I want to care about other families, too.
And future families.

Read more in About Organic Cotton and some of what’s going on in California.