We only use certified, organically grown cotton for the production of our shirts. How do people and the environment benefit from the cultivation and use of organic cotton? We want to highlight the advantages here in order to show you how we as consumers can contribute to a healthy environment by choosing organic cotton.

Advantages of organic cotton at one glance:

• The biodiversity of animals and plants in the growing areas is protected
• The soil is protected and remains fertile
• The health of the people in the growing areas is protected
• Organic cotton is mostly irrigated by rainwater and therefore uses less groundwater
• The CO2 emissions from cultivation are lower for organic cotton
• The independence of organic farmers is encouraged because they do not depend on chemistry and genetically modified seeds and, thanks to crop rotation, also rely on the cultivation of other crops

The curse of the white gold

The textile and fashion industries are among the dirtiest sectors of the global economy. According to a Quantis study, the clothing and footwear industry was responsible for 5-10% of global pollution in 2016 (1). The cultivation of raw materials, especially cotton, is still a major part of the pollution, which is still the most popular natural fiber for the manufacture of our clothing.

Around 24 million tons of cotton are grown every year. This corresponds approximately to the weight of 100 cruise ships. As you know, you can find it not only in T-shirts, shirts and trousers, but also in all kinds of textiles such as curtains and in medical or cosmetic articles. Cotton is an integral part of our everyday life.

Given the environmental impact associated with conventional cotton, it remains a mystery why organic cotton is not used more often. The proportion of organically grown cotton is still only about 0.5% of the world's cotton cultivation! According to the Organic Cotton Market Report, 117'525 tons of organic cotton were grown in 2016/17 (2).

Cotton is grown on 2.4% of the world's arable land but is responsible for 11% of the global pesticide use and 24% of all insecticides used (3). The pesticides and insecticides are used to protect the cotton plants from pests. Yet they do not only kill the actual pests but also the entire animal and plant life in the cultivation area. Moreover they pollute the groundwater. (4)

In addition, conventional cotton is mostly harvested by machines. Because the machines cannot distinguish between cotton, leaves, ripe and unripe cotton capsules, herbicides are often applied. They cause the leaves to wither before harvesting. Herbicides also speed up the ripening process of the cotton capsule. The cotton plant perceives the herbicide as harmful, which leads to an "emergency maturity" of the capsules. Before the plant dies, it lets the fruit ripen as quickly as possible. (5)

Organic Cotton: 100% natural - no pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, no synthetic fertilizers

The organic cultivation of cotton completely dispenses with the use of genetically modified seeds, the use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and synthetic fertilizers. In most cases, organic cotton is grown in smallholder structures. The organic farmers have all the resources they need for fertilizing and protecting their crops on their farms.

Instead of synthetic fertilizers, organic farmers use natural fertilizers such as cow manure. They might also prepare their own substances for pest controls from plants they have at hand. Intercropping with sunflowers and other plants also helps to keep pests away in a natural way. By avoiding pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, the flora and fauna as well as the organic farmers themselves are not exposed to the dangerous substances. (6)

Lower water consumption

Cotton is generally a water-intensive crop. Today it grows in countries such as Turkey, India, China, the USA, Pakistan or Uzbekistan. Globally, depending on the growing region, 10,000 to 20,000 liters of water are needed to grow one kg of cotton (7) In most cases, the plants must be artificially irrigated to cover water consumption.

This high water consumption is called “blue water”, which describes the water that is taken from lakes, streams or rivers or from groundwater. The vanishingly small Aral Sea in Uzbekistan is evidence of the overuse of water sources caused by agriculture and cotton cultivation in particular. The lake has given way to a salt desert today.

In a comparative analysis of conventional and organic cotton, the organization Textile Exchange (8) found that although the use of water in organic cotton is also high, in the case of organic cotton the water is fed mainly by rain and therefore the consumption of groundwater («Blue water») is up to 91% less compared to conventional cotton.

In our opinion, this number should be treated with caution, since the possibility of rain irrigation certainly depends on the geographic location and not purely on whether it is organically grown or not. However, various sources show that the majority of organic cotton is grown in areas where rain irrigation is possible and is practiced. According to the Textile Exchange, 80% of the organic cotton fields are rain-irrigated. (9)

It is also a fact that the soil is less polluted when natural fertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers are used, when pesticides are not applied and crop rotation is practiced. Soil fertility increases, which is particularly reflected in a higher humus content. As a result, the water capacity is higher and the soils can store more water and are therefore more resistant to drought. (6)

In many cases we use organic cotton from bioRe® projects in India and Tanzania for our shirts. In Tanzania, the organic cotton is 100% rainwatered. In India, this share is 60%. The bioRe® Foundation also conducts research on a domestic cotton variety that is better used to the climate and can produce sufficient yields in both dry and wet conditions. It also supports farmers in India in financing drip irrigation systems that save water.

Less CO2 emissions when growing

If one measures the effects of cotton cultivation on climate change in the form of CO2 emitted, the Textile Exchange found that the cultivation of organic cotton emits 46% less CO2, which has to do with the absence of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, which consequently do not have to be manufactured and do not have to be distributed (with vehicles). The study also takes into account the fact that smaller amounts of CO2 are generated because less irrigation is used and, accordingly, fewer water pumps have to be operated. (8)

978 kg of CO2 are emitted for 1 ton of organic cotton. For the same amount of conventional cotton, it is approx. 1’800 kg CO2. (8) For a shirt, we need around 200 g of cotton, which means about 0.2 kg of CO2 for the cultivation of the raw material. Notabene: This only affects the cultivation and says nothing about which emissions will be emitted later for the processing and transport of the materials and the finished goods.

No genetically modified seeds, more independence for the farmers

70% of the cotton acreage is cultivated with genetically modified cotton (3). Genetically modified cotton seeds were originally developed to guarantee protection against pests such as the boll weevil. However, because the pests become resistant or populations of other insects harmful to cotton have increased, pesticides cannot be avoided. As a result, farmers have high expenses for the purchase of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. They also have to buy the genetically modified seeds every year, which forces them to become dependent on the agrochemical companies. (4)

Organic farmers can reuse the cotton seeds of their harvest for the next sowing season. This means that they have no expenses for genetically modified seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and do not have to take up loans for their procurement. Organic farming also prescribes crop rotations. Monocultures are not allowed. In addition to cotton, organic farmers also rely on other crops such as maize, soybeans, and wheat to compensate for possible losses and improve their livelihood. (6)

(1) Quantis, 2018, Measuring Fashion
(2) Textile Exchange, 2018, Organic Market Report 
(3) www.fibl.org/de/themen/biobaumwolle/biobaumwolle-hintergrund.html, abgerufen am 29.01.20 
(4) https://www.biore.ch/darum-biore/probleme/ abgerufen am 29.01.20
(5) https://naturtextil.de/themen/bio-baumwolle/
(6) https://www.biore.ch/darum-biore/leistungen/ abgerufen am 29.01.20 
(7) Soil Association, 2019, Thirsty for fashion?
(8) Textile Exchange, 2014, The Life Cycle Assessment of Organic Cotton Fiber, Summary of Findings 
(9) Textile Exchange, 2017, Organic Cotton Sustainability Assessment

Pictures by bioRe® India, bioRe® Tansania and CARPASUS