We all know how important cotton is in our daily lives, and the extortionate amount with which we use it, particularly in clothing. Whilst cotton is a much healthier, natural and breathable alternative to synthetic materials like polyester, it too leaves a massive carbon footprint and the method by which it is commercially grown, as with most produce, has a negative effect on our environment.

In this blog I want to briefly outline the effects that mass cotton farming has on our environment.

Firstly, to grow an actual cotton plant it takes 10,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton. That means it takes around 2,700 litres to produce a cotton t-shirt and around 8,000 litres to produce a pair of jeans. The water that can used to make a t-shirt is enough to hydrate one person for two and a half years. Yet, water isn’t the biggest issue, and this issue can be easily diluted if we recycle our clothing and switch from fast-fashion websites to sustainable fashion sites.

Secondly, non-organic cotton is seriously a killer. I know you may think having organic clothing may be unnecessary, provides no benefit whatsoever and is just another 1st world solution to another degree. However, organic farming helps lower harmful emissions being released into our atmosphere. This is because hazardous pesticides and chemical fertilisers are avoided. Non GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) encourage hybrid variation in cotton seeds, leading to a wider variety of cotton plant naturally. In turn, the organic soil actually retains more water, meaning less water has to be used in the manufacturing of cotton. Furthermore, organic cotton is often farmed in rotation with other crops, enhancing food safety and security.

If this isn’t enough to get you to make the switch between organic and pesticide-filled cotton, or at least get you to think about where your clothes are coming from, hopefully my next point will:

NON-ORGANIC COTTON KILLS

You read it correctly, and I’m not talking about a minor case of one in a million dying because they were secretly allergic to cotton. I’m talking about the farmers and workers who grow and harvest the cotton. If farmed non-organically, these farmers are in danger of contracting illnesses such as mouth, lung and eye cancer due to the harmful pesticides they use. Moreover, these harmful pesticides are so dangerous that many female cotton harvesters have miscarried or given birth to babies with severe deformities due to the chemical fertilisers they work with. This is such a problem that companies are now starting to employ women who have already had children or forcing younger women into sterilisation so they do not get human rights backlash.

I hope this blog post has encouraged you to think about the source of your clothing.

We as consumers have the full power to change the capitalistic and consumerist world that we have helped to create.