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Organic cotton is grown free of toxic chemicals using biologically-based and sustainable growing methods (such as crop rotation) rather than with highly synthetic and destructive fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides or pesticides.
Buying organic clothing helps lessen the impact that conventional farming has on the Earth. Organic agriculture protects the environment and health of people by reducing exposure to toxic chemicals that can end up in the ground, air, water, and food supply. Consider this...
- It takes 1/3 of a pound of chemicals (pesticides & fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just one t-shirt. (SCP)
- The EPA considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 in the United States as “possible”, “likely”, “probable”, or “known” human carcinogens (acephate, dichloropropene, diuron, fluometuron, pendimethalin, tribufos, and trifluralin). (EPA)
- 55 Million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 12.8 million acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. in 2003 (4.3 pounds/acre), ranking cotton the third in total amount of pesticides sprayed. (USDA)
- Over 2.03 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to conventional cotton in 2000 (142 pounds/acre), making cotton the fourth most heavily fertilized crop. (USDA)
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