Organic cotton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Organic cotton is cotton that is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified. As of 2007, 265,517 bales of organic cotton were produced in 24 countries and worldwide production was growing at a rate of more than 50% per year.[1] Cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land yet uses 16% of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop. [2]
Though organic cotton has less environmental impact than conventional cotton, it costs more to produce. Side-effects of conventional production that are avoided in organic growing methods include:
- 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.[3]
- The chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters.
- Residual chemicals may irritate consumers' skin.
- The conventional cotton industry relies on a high level of forced child labor.[4]
Naturally colored cotton has also been grown successfully with organic methods.[5]
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[edit] Regional
Organic cotton is currently being grown successfully in many countries; the largest producers (as of 2007) are Turkey, India and China.[1]
Organic cotton production in Africa takes place in at least 8 countries. The earliest producer (1990) was the SEKEM organization in Egypt; the farmers involved later convinced the Egyptian government to convert 400,000 hectares of conventional cotton production to integrated methods,[6] achieving a 90% reduction in the use of synthetic pesticides in Egypt and a 30% increase in yields.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Organic Trade Association
- ^ EJF. (2007). The deadly chemicals in cotton. Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network UK: London, UK. ISBN No. 1-904523-10-2.
- ^ "Picking Cotton Carefully". Institute of Science in Society. March 2007. http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Picking_Cotton_Carefully.php.
- ^ http://www.ejfoundation.org/page330.html
- ^ Dickerson et al. "Naturally colored cotton" CATI 990901
- ^ Organic cotton projects in Africa
- ^ CSR case study
[edit] External links
- Global Organic Cotton Community Platform
- Corporate Social Repsonsibility Fashion Community
- WearOrganic - The one-stop information centre for organic cotton
- Organic cotton at the Open Directory Project
- Facts About Organic Cotton
- Organic Exchange
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