Organic Cotton Clothing

What is Organic Cotton?

In answering this question, it is useful to look first at cotton. As it turns out, cotton is the most popular and best selling fabric in the world. It is a soft, fluffy, staple fiber that grows in what is known as a ‘boll’ around the seeds of the cotton plant. While organic cotton comprises less than 5% of global cotton production, it is increasing by as much as 150% per year. India and Turkey are the leading producers of organic cotton.

Historical Perspective: Not surprisingly, cotton has gained its remarkable reputation over millennia. First cultivated seven thousand years ago by the Indus Valley Civilization, cotton was an important crop with well developed methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication, some of which continued into the modern day.

Organic Cotton

Unlike conventional cotton, organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Organic cotton is also grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment.
Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture.
Third-party certification organizations must verify that organic producers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production.
Federal regulations prohibit the use of genetically engineered seed for organic farming.
All cotton sold as organic in the United States must meet strict federal regulations covering how the cotton is grown. The most common standards used in the US are the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS).

Benefits of Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is produced without toxic and persistent pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
Because organic cotton does not use any harsh chemicals or toxic dyes in the finishing or dying process either, the fabric is softer and smoother to touch, as well as better for your skin.
Organic cotton is also better for the environment and more sustainable.
Organic cotton production is a holistic system of growing and processing focused on the long-term health of the land, water, biodiversity and human resources used for its cultivation and processing.
Due to its unique structure, cotton can absorb up to 27 times its own weight in water.
Cotton also breathes and helps to remove body moisture by absorbing it and wicking it away from the skin. It is also a long lasting fiber.

Downside of Conventional Cotton

Conventionally grown cotton consumes approximately 25% of the global consumption of insecticides and more than 10% of the world’s pesticides.
Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S.: cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin are known cancer-causing chemicals.
To grow and harvest enough cotton to make one T-shirt, which is approximately 1 pound of cotton, it requires approximately 1/3 of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers, many of which are toxic.
Conventionally grown cotton takes an enormous toll on the earth’s resources including air, water, soil, and ultimately has a detrimental effect on global public health.
Certain conventional cotton industry practices, such as crop subsidies, monoculture, chemical dumping, poor natural resource management, child labor use, and garment sweatshops reinforce cycles of poverty and harm the environment in cotton-growing regions of the world. Organically grown cotton does not permit such practices.
Total US cotton crops account for 25% of all the pesticides used in the US. Some of these chemicals are also among the most toxic, as classified by the EPA.
In developing countries, where regulations are less strict (and in some cases non-existent), the amount of herbicides and insecticides used and respective toxicity levels are often much greater than in the US.
Policies and practices within the cotton industry from crop subsidies to garment sweatshops reinforce cycles of poverty in regions where cottons is grown and processed.

What is Organic Cotton?

The guiding principle behind organic farming is working with nature as opposed to against nature.

In a nutshell, organic cotton is cotton that is grown and processed without the use of toxic or persistent chemicals (such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, dyes and finishers). However it is also much more than that. It is a system of growing and processing that places the environment and natural resources front and center, making sustainability a core goal.

According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture. Third-party certification organizations verify that organic producers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production. Organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. In addition, federal regulations [in the United States] prohibit the use of genetically engineered seed for organic farming. All cotton sold as organic in the United States must meet strict federal regulations covering how the cotton is grown.

Rather than using pesticides for example, organic cotton farmers may foster biological diversity to reduce the likelihood of insects, birds or other pests damaging crops; they may also use beneficial predator insect, crop rotations, intercropping and biological pesticides such as neem oil.

What is ‘Certified’ Organic Cotton?

Certified organic cotton is cotton that has been certified to a global organic textile standard by a third party organization. The most prominent set of standards in the United States is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). GOTS officially came into effect around 2008, and was the result of 4 international organizations forming an agreement over organic standards. More information on these standards can be found on the GOTS website. Experts believe that the GOTS standards are now the most rigorous in the world, setting a ‘gold standard’ for organic textile certifications.

A company wishing to certify their fiber or fabric, must contact an accredited third party organization, which can be found on the GOTS website, or the Organic Exchange. In addition to the GOTS, Organic Exchange (OE) has developed two voluntary private standards: OE100 and OE Blended, which support fiber-only claims.

Jute and Jackfruit carries certified organic clothing that is either 100% organic cotton or organic cotton blended with other sustainable fabrics. Each garment at Jute and Jackfruit contains a label identifying which fabrics are used. Jute and Jackfruit is firmly committed to emerging and established designers using certified organic cotton and other sustainable fabrics such as mill-ends, remnants, recycled fibers, hemp, organic wool, Tencel and others. In addition to seeking out sustainable and environmentally-friendly fabrics, Jute and Jackfruit looks for designers and artisan groups that are committed to the environment and sustainability as part of their core mission. All garments and products at Jute and Jackfruit must also meet ethical standards. They are either made in the USA (mostly by women) or made by women’s artisan or other groups overseas as part of a fair trade initative.

Content Sources: Wikipedia on Cotton , Organic Trade Association (OTA), GOTS, Organic Exchange, The Value and Reach of Cotton by Itsus Eco System Green, Green Cotton Blog

Photosource top: Wikipedia on Cotton