Fiber Definitions — textile fibers, yarn fibers and fiber properties from Apparel Search
Organic cotton is cotton that is grown without pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified. Conventional cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts in total for 16 percent of the world's pesticides, so the organic alternative replaces agrochemicals and artificial fertilisers with crop rotation, and pesticides with biological pest control.
High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton. Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts in total for 16% of the world's pesticides. The chemicals used in the processing of cotton also pollute the air and surface waters. Residual chemicals may also irritate consumers' skin.
Organic agriculture uses crop rotation instead of agrochemicals and artificial fertilisers, and biological pest control instead of pesticides. Though organic cotton has less environmental impact than conventional cotton, it costs more to produce.
Critics of organic farming in general point out that genetic modification of crops can have environmental benefits. Crops can be engineered to have a higher yields, allowing smaller plots to be dedicated to farming. It also can reduce crops' reliance on pesticides, making engineered plants potentially more suitable for no-pesticide techniques than conventional varieties.
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The argument for organic cotton starts with the chemical load of the conventional crop. Cotton production accounts in total for 16 percent of the world's pesticides while occupying a far smaller share of farmland, and the chemicals used in processing add pollution in air and surface waters. Residual chemicals may also irritate consumers' skin, which is one reason organic cotton found an early market in baby clothing, underwear and other garments worn close to the body. Organic agriculture answers with system methods rather than product substitutions: crop rotation maintains soil fertility instead of artificial fertilisers, and biological pest control — encouraging the insects and organisms that prey on cotton pests — replaces sprayed pesticides. Because the plants are not genetically modified, seed saving and traditional breeding remain part of the system, and certification schemes such as GOTS exist to verify that a finished garment's fiber was actually grown and processed to an organic standard.
Critics of organic farming in general point out that genetic modification of crops can itself have environmental benefits. Crops can be engineered to have higher yields, allowing smaller plots to be dedicated to farming, and engineering can reduce a crop's reliance on pesticides, making engineered plants potentially more suitable for no-pesticide techniques than conventional varieties. That debate is part of why organic cotton remains a premium niche rather than the default: it has less environmental impact than conventional cotton on the measures its supporters track, but it costs more to produce, yields and land use enter the comparison, and the shopper ultimately decides whether the growing method justifies the price difference on the label. For the fiber itself, nothing changes in the spinning mill — organic cotton is still cotton, with the same softness, absorbency and dye behaviour as the conventional fiber, which is why the distinction lives in farming practice and certification rather than in the hand of the finished cloth.
Organic cotton is grown without pesticides from plants that are not genetically modified. Organic agriculture uses crop rotation instead of agrochemicals and artificial fertilisers, and biological pest control instead of pesticides.
High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton, which uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop. The chemicals used in processing cotton also pollute the air and surface waters, and residual chemicals may irritate consumers' skin.
Though organic cotton has less environmental impact than conventional cotton, it costs more to produce. Growing without synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, and keeping the crop separate and certifiable through the supply chain, adds cost at every stage.