why organic cotton?
when we started out we hadn't even heard of organic cotton. it wasn't that we were ignorant, it was just nothing we had considered before.
like most people we thought clothing made from100% cotton was a natural product - well in a way it is, it grows from the earth, it's not man-made; but it isn't left to grow naturally, there is catastrophic human intervention...
in the early stages of sowing the cotton and its subsequesnt growth, the cotton is subjected to large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilisers. but it's not just the cotton that is subjected to these chemicals. the chemicals get into the air, the earth and the water table - which then go on and directly affect the local communities who grow, work and rely on these crops.
in developing countries, it is estimated that 20,000 deaths a year are as a direct result of these chemicals.
most of the chemicals used are on the World Health Organisation's 'moderately hazardous' list and two are known to be on their 'highly hazardous' list, but they are still used!?
the reason they are on these lists is because they are known to be carcinogenic and also affect both the nervous and reproductive systems.
it is not just the farmers who come into direct contact with these chemicals, but the community as a whole. in these communities there has been an increase in childhood blood diseases and birth defects from drinking contaminated water. these chemicals not only get into the water system, but also the food chain; through cotton seed oil used in processed food, through animals being fed on cotton products and grazing on land contaminated due to chemical drifting during crop spraying.
cotton represents approximately 3% of the world's cultivated land, yet utilises 25% of the annual pesticide production and 10% of the annual herbcide production!
the average 100% cotton T-shirt is made up of only 73% cotton - the rest is made up of chemicals and their residue that were used to grow and make it.
it takes approximately 150 grams (the equivalent of 1 cup or 17 teaspoons) of pesticides alone to grow enough cotton to make one T-shirt.
because of this intense use of chemicals over a long period of time, the land becomes barren and the pests become resistant. this is not good news, especially in developing countries, where in some instances the land is all they have and growing crops is their only means of income. they face the prospect of loss of valuable fertile land and being locked into a vicious circle of having to increase the intensity and frequency of pesticide doses - this develops into a pattern where cotton production becomes uneconomical. in desperate situations, farmers have been known to run up substantial debt and have commited suicide as their only means of escape!
these are just some of the reasons why we started looking into an alternative to cotton, and why we have decided to use only 100% organic cotton.
the organic cotton used to make our T-shirts has been certified by an internationally recognised European agency called SKAL - and we have the certificate to prove it. the SKAL certificate relates to the fibre only.
the processing chain from fibre to fabric to product is complex and normally resource intensive and environmentally damaging. the majority of processes are unavoidable and therefore best environmental practice must be achieved by focusing on reducing water, energy and chemical consumption to a minimum and treating wastes before discharging.
the organic cotton we use adheres to European standards for Eco-labelling. the dye-house's self-certification is acceptable as it is registered as an Oko-tex 100 compliant member with the Swiss Textile Testing Institute.
the manufacturer tests for fitness of use at the textile committee laboratory operated by the Government of India and having international acceptance for testing which meets the European Organic cotton label standards.
there are some people who will argue that the targets set by some of these standards are relatively low, however as time progresses we aim to improve upon these standards by working closely with our suppliers; and at least we know that unlike most of our competitors in the directional fashion market we have made a start in reducing our environmental impact and will continue to do so. |
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