Why go organic?

Thu, 02/18/2010

Everyone wants to know why organic cotton is so important. The reason lies in the fact that conventional cotton is the second most heavily sprayed crop in the world [coffee is the first]. Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts to a total of around 25% of the world's pesticides.

Typically, on an average size T-shirt, between a quarter to a half pound of pesticides are sprayed. The issues at hand are the residue of chemicals and effects of the spraying on people and the environment. Most pesticides that are used today contain chloride compounds. When they are airborne, they become dioxins, which are carcinogens - cancer causing agents. Plus, chlorine is a known hormone-disrupter linked to breast and prostate cancer.

Organic textile on the other hand, is cloth made from cotton grown without using pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified and using methods and materials that have low impact on the environment.

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