EcoLiving Ideas

By Jennifer Barckley on May 30, 2012

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It’s the fabric of our lives, says Cotton Incorporated®. It’s interwoven into millions of moments—from climbing trees as a child, to our first days of school to our most memorable spring break. And yet, cotton is a fabric that has potential to reverse our lives, to downturn our health, to pollute our waterways and with it, our bodies. It may seem ironic that a natural plant, used to create some of the most breathable, comfortable fabric in the world, is entrenched in a life cycle of chemicals.

Unwinding conventional cotton wisdom
An oft-reported fact still never ceases to take my breath away, literally: Twenty-five percent of the world’s insecticides and 10 percent of all pesticides, according to the Organic Trade Association, are used to grow cotton. That’s especially staggering if we close our eyes and imagine wearing one-third of a pound of chemicals every time we don our favorite t-shirt. And sadly, it’s how the numbers break down. The World Health Organization has calculated that over 41 percent of the $2 billion-worth of chemical pesticides used by the world’s cotton farmers are classified as hazardous. These questionable chemical cocktails include substances like Glyphosate, which comes in the form of Roundup as a weed

killer,
and others like Cyfluthrin, an insecticide. In developed areas like the U.S., these drugs are frequently applied to cotton fields via air sprayers and then washed into our soil and waterways, ensuring that, in one way or another, the chemicals will reach us. Another trend that’s persisted for nearly two decades is the use of Bt Cotton, a genetically engineered (GMO) crop developed by Monsato, ready-made with insecticides. While its use generally reduces the amount of insecticides conventional farmers must spray on their crops, it is inherently imbued with chemicals. Plus, manipulation of the plant’s genetic makeup has potential for future mayhem. But until then, we just don’t know how bad it could be.

We often consider food to have the greatest, direct impact on our health, and yet, we also know that our skin is our largest organ. From the beauty products we coat our skin with every day, to the clothes our skin breathes in and out of, what we wear matters. It’s a simple equation really. Potentially carcinogenic chemicals in; health risk and possibly fatal disease, out (and still within) the body.

Stitching from a better thread
Before we commit ourselves to a life of synthetic nylon, it pays to look at the other paradigm—organic cotton. When grown organically, chemical insecticides and pesticides are eschewed. In lieu of these compounds, natural methods are employed, including the use of beneficial insects that prey on their crop-destroying counterparts. Naturally GMO’s are banned, which means our cotton is, well, really cotton. Because the soil is fed with, rather than depleted of, nutrients, topsoil erosion is also mitigated. And the air and water are clearer and healthier—free of chemical dumping. Perhaps most importantly, for you and I, we are spared the pound-full ingestion of potentially carcinogenic chemicals. As the precautionary principle goes, if something has suspected risk of causing harm, it behooves us to wise up and stay away.

So when it comes to clothes, bedding, towels and other daily items, organic cotton (and other renewable, pesticide-free fibers like hemp), are simply a safer and healthier choice—an investment in our future. For babies and children, such choices are of particular importance. Afterall, a baby’s skin is five times thinner than an adult's, making it that much more impressionable to the influence of chemicals in cotton and everything we, humans, come in contact with. It’s why labels like Dhana EcoKids, a certified organic cotton line of children’s clothing, have come to life. Lynn Colwell, co-founder and author of “Celebrate Green!”, notes that “… just as important as the beautiful, artist designed clothes themselves, is the message that they offer: Even a dress can inspire us to think more deeply about the planet and open the conversation to the role we might play in its healing.” And, we might add, in our healing too. That’s the beauty of it. We can multi-task our way into a new, healthy world—lightening our earth’s burden and relieving our bodies all the while.

Cheers + Love, Organic Girly