Cotton is woven into your everyday life. It makes up the towel that you dry off with, the t-shirt that you wear with your favorite jeans and the sheets that you curl up with each night. The question is: Is it organic or conventional?

First, you must know the difference between organic and conventional cotton. Conventional cotton not only uses pesticides and insecticides in the farming process, it is also subjected to chemical baths and treatments when the fabric is prepared for cutting. Conventional cotton also uses dyes that sometimes contain heavy metals which are harmful to the environment and our bodies. In addition, the toxic pesticides used in conventional cotton sometimes are consumed in foods that contain cottonseed oil.

Organic cotton, on the other hand, is processed without use of harsh chemicals and is either left natural, dyed with low-impact environmental dyes or dyed with natural colorants such as clay.

Benefits of using organic cotton for farmers include:

-Balanced ecosystem and enhanced health: lack of chemicals ensure soil fertility and preserves groundwater while enhancing biodiversity.
-Improved economic situation and food security: partnerships enhance the economic status
-Improved access to markets: organic cotton has strict environmental and social standards

Benefits for Consumers:

-Buy a healthy product
-Traceability, clear standards and labels: consumer knows where the product is coming from and how it was made
-Do good for the environment
-Have a positive impact on producer’s livelihood: help out the organic farmers

For organic cotton options in your home check out Olive & Myrtle’s site for Loop Organic Cotton Towels, Loop Organic Cotton Sheets or Unison Organic Cotton Table Linens.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.