Our Planet
About Cotton: Think Organic
For many of us, the last thing to cross our minds when looking in a three-way mirror at a pair of flattering jeans is how they were actually made or who made them. Most of us wear cotton everyday, it’s comfortable and it’s affordable, BUT, we don’t realise how toxic it is to produce it, to process it and to wear it.
Cotton processing is a very resource-consuming, polluting and unhealthy industry. For every pound of cotton, two-thirds of a pound of insecticides and pesticides are used to grow it, and it takes 1740 gallons (6587 litres) of water to produce 1 cotton T-shirt. The consequences of depleting our water resources can be serious – the Aral Sea (located in Central Asia), for example, has completely dried out! The reliance on chemical compounds in the bleaching, refining and dying of cotton have been blamed for a range of problems, from water contamination to unusually high cancer rates and skin diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 deaths and 3 million nonfatal poisonings result from accidental pesticide poisonings every year. Large amounts of water, energy and chemicals are used in the different processing stages. The additives required for processing usually find their way into the local waste water systems, resulting in highly contaminated effluents. Most effluents from cotton processing are produced during the finishing stage and are characterized by their highly polluting load, high solid content and high temperature.
 Chemicals also remain in the final product, which can cause health problems. The excessive use of pesticides is perhaps the most serious and the main motivation for many people and organizations to seek changes in current production patterns. Cotton is also very prone to insect infestation, which means that it cannot be sustained without high levels of fertilizers and pesticides. In the user or consumer phase, environmental problems arise from the use of energy, water and chemicals for washing, drying and ironing.
Once we’ve realised the negative impacts of the growing and production of cotton and we want to participate in protecting our increasingly scarce water resources and the workers who take part in this very hazardous process, then what could we do? What should we buy?
One option is to buy clothing, bed linens and other products made from other fabrics, such as wool, angora, cashmere, hemp, ramie, silk, linen and flax.
The other solution is to buy these same products made from organic cotton. If it's grown organically with minimal impact on the earth's environment, then it becomes an eco-friendly garment. Here is a list of shops on the Internet that propose some organic alternatives:
French websites
www.modetic.com
You have the possibility of buying their products online. The shipping of the goods is free if you purchase for a minimum of 150 euros. The cost of these products, however, doesn’t fit everyone’s pocketbook.
www.somewhere.fr/vente-en-ligne/default.aspx
This is a subsidiary of La Redoute — inexpensive organic clothes but a very limited choice. Nevertheless, go back to it often as it probably will expand its offerings…
www.planetecoton.com
Another website dedicated to making clothes out of organic cotton – website available in English and German.
www.ethnica.com
A website which has a nice selection of T-shirts. Many shops available in many cities in France.
http://cestcoton.com
They have a nice selection of undergarments for children, women and men. You can also find towels…
www.poetik.org
Fun ! T-shirts with poems in Japanese, French and Spanish. Limited Edition
English websites
www.hug.co.uk
www.indigoclothing.com
www.patagonia.com
www.biocoton.com
www.rawganique.com
www.timberland.com
Céline Anthonioz
French Accent Magazine - January 07
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