Why exactly is organic cotton better than conventionally produced cotton fabric?
Are there any drawbacks? Cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world. It accounts for 3% of farmland but consumes approximately 25% of all insecticides. Some of the most deadly chemicals are sprayed on cotton. One of the most common chemicals sprayed on cotton in the US is aldicarb. According to the The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton report published by the Environmental Justice Foundation, “A single drop of the pesticide, aldicarb, absorbed through the skin can kill an adult. … In 2003 almost 1 million kilos were applied to cotton grown in the USA.” Its use in the US has led to the contamination of groundwater in 16 states. This powerful nerve agent is more widely applied on cotton than any other insecticide in the US. A Cornell study found that only .1% of pesticides actually end up on the pests they are designed to target! The rest ends up in the air, soil, water, and the plant itself. Organic agriculture not only avoids toxins from being sprayed on our planet, but it
