People use clothes made of organic cotton including pajamas, jeans, t-shirts, towels, and even napkins. Being a natural fiber, organic cotton has hypoallergenic properties that avoid allergies and even conditions like asthma. Manufacturers advertise organic cotton clothes as ideal for people with skin irritations and for babies with tender skin. Even if you are not prone to allergies, organic cotton clothes feels better on skin.
Clothing made of this natural fiber is softer than those made of conventional or regular cotton are. Cotton is one of the most fertilized crops. Conventional cotton is grown with monoculture farming system, which refers to the cultivation of cotton in an area year after year. Farmers say that this reduces the fertility of the soil and hampers biodiversity, since pesticides and insecticides has to be used to avoid pests that target cotton. Conventional cotton is subject to be plagued by bacterial blight, white fly, tropical rust, charcoal rot, lint contamination, and so forth, hence toxic chemicals are used for cultivation.
The usage of chemical to produce conventional cotton has proved to be a hazard to the environment. It accounts for ten percent pesticides and twenty-five percent insecticides used across the world, although only three percent of farmland grows cotton globally. Using pesticides against main pests only paves way for secondary pests.
On the other hand, organic cotton is grown without using toxic chemicals but organic pest control measurements. In addition to that, farmers follow crop rotation system to cultivate organic cotton in a fertile land that is used to grow fresh produce. Henceforth, organic cotton improves the fertility of the soil and conserves agricultural biodiversity. Besides, since organic cotton clothing manufacturers stick to rigid standards, it also ensures value to the customers.
During a conventional cotton garment manufacturing process, several synthetic chemicals are used. Varieties such as BT cotton are genetically modified to make them resistant to bollworm pests in particular.
Benefits of Organic Cotton
- Less harmful to the environment
- Cheaper to BT cotton variety
- Organic cotton fabric smells pleasant
- Non-allergenic clothing so that also reduces risk of respiratory conditions
- Cotton seeds are not treated like in conventional systems
A major proportion of the conventional cotton cultivation is hybrid, but organic cotton cultivation is widely considered as better for the safety and health of growing communities.
