Why is the use of Organic Cotton important?
Cotton is the largest natural fiber supplying the global demand for textile products. In 2005, the world’s demand for textile fibers was 59 billion Kilograms. In 2006 and beyond, world income and population growth will stimulate a 1.92 billion Kilogram increase in global fiber demand each year. That means enough fiber will be needed for nearly 9 billion T-shirts or 2.3 billion pairs of denim jeans. The main alternatives to Cotton are non-renewable chemical fibers. www.cottoninc.com/sustainability/ Conventional (non-Organic) Cotton is the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides on 3% of our arable land; that’s more than any other crop per unit. That adds up to 165 grams of chemicals and pesticides to produce enough Cotton for a t-shirt, and 375 grams of chemicals and pesticides for a pair of jeans. And that’s just not bad for the planet; 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of t
