Getting cotton clothing is always better than clothing made from plastic right? Well, it's not actually that simple.
Photography Credit: Greola
The production of cotton can be very harmful for the environment and is called the 'dirtiest crop on earth'. Conventional cotton consumes 16% of the world's insecticides and requires $2 billion in pesticides each year. This contaminates the soil we use to grow crops, the air we breathe and the water we drink.
The deaths of animals exposed to these contaminants is counted in the millions every year and people working in the fields have a higher risk of developing serious diseases like prostate cancer, Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
The difference between organic and non-organic cotton
It takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt, so please choose organic cotton. It doesn't actually use less water to produce organic cotton clothing, but organic farming doesn't use toxic chemicals, pesticides and insecticides, saving the land from harmful pollution.
The word 'organic' is a legal term and all organic farmers, growers and processors must register with organic certification bodies which inspects them at least once a year.
Read about cotton and polyester here.
Sources:
Organic Research Center
Swedishlinens
Textile Exchange