Possibly Higher Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Per qz.com: The lower yields of organic crops have even been linked to higher greenhouse-gas emissions on the industrial farms producing them. They are among the most toxic chemicals as classified by the Environmental Protection Agency … The problem is even worse in developing countries with uninformed consumers, and lack of stable institutions and property rights. ammonia. In Burkina Faso in Africa, documented farmer benefits [of Bt cotton] include a 20% yield increase compared to conventional cotton, a pesticide use reduction of about 67%, while cotton profits were elevated by US$64 per hectare – a 51% increase in previous income levels. From babies to toddlers to big kids, we’ve rounded up the best organic cotton pajamas to keep your kids cozy and comfortable all night long. Organic Cotton vs Regular/Conventional Cotton: Differences, & Which Is Better? Less Acidification – Per sourcingjournal.com: Organic cotton results in 70 percent less acidification of land and water. However, this is just 2% of the country’s cotton acreage. Use of pesticides and fertilizers? If they don’t make a profit in that season, they can go into debt and never pay that debt off … Organic cotton seeds that are renewable may help developing country farmers recover debt with more consistency over the long term and give them a better chance of success for their farming operations .. There’s one major company that has a monopoly on GMO cotton seeds [and] This company continuously increase seed prices, throwing farmers into more and more debt, and destroying their financial freedom and independence. In 2012, a joint Chinese-French study on GM cotton showed that insecticide usage more than halved, and the survival of beneficial insects had a positive impact on pest control. Yet we still use 10,000 liters of water to process just one single kilo of conventional cotton …. That’s probably cotton’s biggest weakness. Also, organic cotton crops can’t be genetically modified. Again, this is something we’ve been doing for thousands of years. Organic cotton’s designation as organic often ends at harvest, without accounting for further stages of its life cycle – many of which are not sustainable. Yields In Organic Cotton Can Be Good – some organic cotton farms do have good yields. Encouragingly, India currently produces two-thirds of the world’s organic cotton. But I also want to look more into the sustainability of GM cotton. All the toxic dyes, pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers we just talked about, don’t just disappear by the time the clothes arrive at the store. Paying attention to traceability might be important too. Producing … Other factors such as climate change, decreasing prices of cotton and tough competition from farmers in rich countries don’t make it any easier … Sadly, suicide rates among cotton farmers have been high in the last 20 years. This can be particularly detrimental for low income farmers in low income areas of the world who’s livelihood is tied to their farming income. Higher greenhouse gas emissions sometimes. Many also suffer from birth defects and other diseases such as asthma. Organic cotton produces around 46% less CO2e compared to conventional cotton. So far, organic cotton sounds awesome, and you don’t understand why would anyone buy regular cotton ever again. Organic cotton uses far less [fresh] water to grow since organic cotton growers typically utilize rain far more than irrigation. If you have chemical sensitivities or allergies, organic cotton is a great choice. What I realized from this post so far, is all of the advantages of organic cotton come from the fewer amount of toxic chemicals it uses. And if you regularly shop fast fashion you might feel a little better about yourself when you notice that little “organic” sign on the label, but you might have zero ideas what organic means. More land, water and energy used. The Textile Exchange study only compared the production of organic and conventional cotton, but it didn’t look into the processing of raw cotton and the production of the textile. the timeliness of payment and market access …, the risk of investment made by the farmer … [, are all] challenges [organic cotton is having] in growing its market share and making a strong business case for companies to shift to organic …. Just because something’s natural (comes from nature) doesn’t mean it’s entirely harmless. And how far cotton travels before it winds up in your closet should factor into the environmental equation too. In recent years, many of us have started to think more about the food we put in our bodies every day. When more people are eco-conscious, it is a hot trend that fashion goes green. The cotton might have been grown organically, but might have been dyed with all the extremely toxic chemicals, and it can still harm your skin when you think it wouldn’t. swedishlinens.com: Global organizations estimate thousands of people exposed to the chemicals used in non-organic cotton production die of cancer, poisoning, and miscarriages each year. Grass-fed. Although, livestock manure can produce all sorts of gases like ammonia and VOCs, so, it’s at least questionable whether less air pollution is really a benefit of organic cotton. We’ve put together a short summary guide outlining some of the further key differences between organic and regular cotton, and we’ve also included some other useful information such as alternatives to cotton as a material. Per qz.com: There’s some evidence to suggest that certain organic pesticides can be worse for the environment than conventional ones. It’s a Whole Lot More Work It takes a whole lot of hard work to successfully grow crops organically. 1. The problem is when they try to pass something as organic and sustainable which actually isn’t. Growing cotton organically reduces cotton’s negative impact on the environment. To make a pair of jeans, conventional cotton would take 9,910 gallons of water compared to 932 with organic (a savings of 8,978 gallons). 1 tonne of conventional cotton fiber produces 1.8 tonnes of CO2e. A Danish study compared the environmental impact of different carrier bags, and found organic cotton bags have to be used 20,000 versus 7,000 times for regular cotton bags, to have the same environmental impact as plastic bags across a range of environmental indicators. 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