Why Organic Cotton?

There is much information to be found on the benefits of organically-grown cotton. I used to think of cotton as a good, natural alternative to synthetic fabrics like polyester--but I knew very little about the processes undergone by "conventionally-grown" cotton.

Did you know that 70% of the cotton grown in the US is genetically-modified (GMO)? And in 2007, 43% of the world's cotton crop was GM. Not exactly natural in my opinion. "Bt Cotton" is Monsanto's bio-engineered cotton and is developed by inserting a gene from soil bacteria to produce a toxin that kills certain types of pests. They call it "Bt toxin" and their GM cotton produces this "Bt toxin" as it grows. Bt toxin destroys the guts of insects that ingest it, though Monsanto claims it is harmless to humans.
Another selling point for Monsanto is that Bt is resistant to herbicides. Meaning, farmers can spray herbicides directly on the cotton plants in an effort to kill weeds.
There is of course a wide range of issues associated with all of this. There is the possibility of adversely affecting "non-targeted" insects and other animals; and experience has shown that yields are not higher, most noteably in India, where there has been a plague of farmer suicides due to GM crop failures. And what about potential contamination of soil, water, air, and food supply? And what about the textiles made from these plants being in direct contact with our skin? and our babies' skin?
Of course some of the answers to these questions are yet unknown...but I can't help but think of Mary Shelley's story of a man who got too carried away with his own power. Perhaps we should practice a bit more restraint. Just because we can does not necessarily mean we should.

Organic Cotton is never grown from GMO seeds.

But that's not the only reason to choose organic cotton!
Here are a few more:

• Organic seeds are not treated with fungicides or insecticides commonly used to treat non-organic cotton seeds
• Organic cotton builds strong soil through crop rotation rather than using synthetic fertilizers and requires less irrigation because the increased organic matter in the soil retains water better
• Weeds are physically removed from organic cotton crop sites rather than being killed with herbicides
• Organic cotton farmers may use beneficial insects or trap crops to maintain healthy soil and a balance between pests and their natural predators--all in place of chemical insecticides
• Organic standards continue, beyond cultivation and harvest, into the milling of the raw cotton to textile, insuring a less-toxic process than that of non-organic cotton milling.
  

And here are a few quick facts you may have heard before:

1. About 1/3 pound of chemicals is used just to grow enough cotton to make one non-organic cotton t-shirt.
2. Cotton crops occupy about 3% of the world's cultivated land, yet they account for 25% of annual pesticide production and 10% of herbicide production (note to self: all that GM insecticidal cotton must not be working!)
3. All of the nine most common cotton pesticides carry the EPAs two most dangerous ratings for chemicals, and five of them are known to cause cancer.
   

Want to know more?
Google your questions!
And here are some sites I've found helpful:
www.aboutorganiccotton.org
www.accesseco.com
Organic Consumers Association
www.gmo-compass.org
Sustainable Cotton Project
Harmony Art Design

Don't know much about Monsanto? (The makers of Agent Orange)
www.monsanto.com
Millions Against Monsanto Campaign