Cotton: The Deadliest Textile

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http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13748

Cotton: The Deadliest Textile

Judy Yablonski, AlterNet

August 15, 2002

Ecologically conscious consumers are well aware of their power to support

organic agriculture with their food purchasing choices. However, issues

surrounding conventionally grown cotton have inexplicably escaped the

conscious consumer's attention.

The hype over organic cotton is based on the disturbing reality that

conventionally grown cotton is one of the most pesticide intensive and

genetically altered crops worldwide, according to Spector of the

Center for Food Safety. Spector spoke on a panel on the subject at this

year's Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at UO March 10.

Pesticides used on cotton not only harm the natural environment, but can

also directly affect human health since 60 percent of cotton actually ends

up in the food chain. Spector says cottonseed oil is used in common snack

foods, such as potato chips and cookies. The catch is that the oil is

extracted from cotton laden with toxic pesticides and fertilizers, and grown

with genetically modified organisms. She warns that children who drink

non-organic milk are exposed to these harmful chemicals because cottonseed

is fed to dairy cows, which accumulate pesticide residues in their tissues.

Project director for the Sustainable Cotton Project, Polan, says

that food products derived from the conventional cotton plant may be more

toxic than other non-organic foods. " Since cotton is regulated as a fiber,

not as a food crop, cotton growers regularly use chemicals that have been

banned from food crops because of their high toxicity, " Polan says.

The problem of pesticide use on cotton is multiplied by the enormity of

acreage of the crop around the world. Cotton fields grow in California,

Texas, Missouri, and internationally in India, Turkey, Uganda, Senegal and

Peru. There are 14 million acres of cotton in the U.S. and that accounts for

20 percent of the world's production of cotton. And cotton practically

monopolizes the pesticide industry. According to the Pesticide Action

Network (PAN), cotton consumes 10 percent of the world's pesticides and

almost 25 percent of its insecticides.

PAN reports that in many developing countries, farmers work in cotton fields

with few, if any, safety precautions to protect them from the pesticides.

Lynda Grose, marketing consultant for the Sustainable Cotton Project, a

group dedicated to educating consumers about issues related to cotton,

advocates organic cotton fabrics as the solution to the problems with

conventionally grown cotton. She says farmers and fashion companies will

only be willing to convert to sustainable textiles, such as organic cotton,

if they are convinced that consumers' interest is a long-term trend. The

" vigilante consumer, " she says, is a significant market force that companies

are starting to recognize. " The vigilante consumer is educated about the

issues, and ready to boycott a company if they don't live up to

expectations. " Furthermore, she says the higher the consumer demand, the

less costly a systematic shift to organic cotton production will be, and

thus, the more likely it will occur.

Grose predicts a growth in awareness of the dangers of conventional cotton

will provide a much-needed boost for the organic fiber industry -- much like

the one experienced by the organic food industry. However, she says the

shift will require a critical mass effort necessary to convince industry

that " today's consumers demand environmentally advanced products, processes,

and companies. " And this demand must include organically and sustainably

grown fibers, she says.

The list of products manufactured with organically grown cotton is growing.

It includes clothing, cotton balls, swab rounds, feminine hygiene products,

futons, stuffed animals, sheets, towels, and many others. High-profile

manufacturers like Patagonia, Levi-Strauss, Nike, and Espirit are already

demonstrating that organic cotton can be profitably used in mainstream

products. In Eugene, several vendors at the Saturday Market sell children's

clothes made from organic fibers. Furthermore, businesses like Sew

Ecological, a national mail-order business that sells organic cotton fabric

and batting, make buying organic cotton products practical nationwide.

PAN warns that just as with organic produce, a " certified organic " label

confirms that a third party inspected the product's manufacturing process.

However, claims that a product is " natural, " " pure, " or " green " do not

necessarily indicate that the cotton was grown organically.

Other alternatives to reducing the world's reliance on conventionally grown

cotton include switching to organic linen, silk or hemp. Industrial hemp,

grown organically or not, does not require the use of pesticides and

requires less water than does cotton. Conversely, Grose says hemp requires

the use of chlorine to bleach it to a cream color, whereas cotton is a cream

color to begin with. Hemp also requires more softener to finish than does

cotton.

Grose predicts that hemp can take over in certain areas, whereas for other

products, cotton is more suitable. The most important message from organic

cotton advocates, would be to cease supporting the current cotton industry

which, for the most part, is under the impression that consumers do not mind

if it uses processes that pollute the water, land, wildlife, farmworkers and

consumers.

Judy Yablonski is a freelance writer based in Eugene, Oregon.