Issue/Publication: ReadyMade Magazine

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In 2007 the sale of organic cotton goods rose 85% to a total of $1.1 billion per year. Major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Nike are using organic cotton in everything from clothing and bed sheets to make-up applicators and tampons. With 25% of all chemical pesticides and fertilizers being used to grow conventional cotton, organic cotton looks to be the best alternative … but is it? Here’s the 411 on how to the two compare.

Conventional

1. Pesticide runoff from conventional cotton farming kills 10,800 U.S. and 20,000 international citizens each year.
2. Conventional cotton is grown in nineteen U.S. states and creates jobs for 15,000 people.
3. Conventional cotton has been the most widely sold fiber for over 50 years and makes up 60% of all clothing found in landfills.
4. Chemical chlorine and urea-formaldehyde are used to bleach conventional cotton from its natural butter yellow to pure white.

Organic

1. Farmers save over $100 per acre in pesticide and fertilizer costs by switching to organic cotton.
2. 80% of all organic cotton is grown in Turkey, India and China, shipped to a factory in Europe or the U.S to be made into items, and then shipped to stores.
3. One organic cotton t-shirt costs 2-3 times more than a conventional cotton t-shirt.
4. All-natural oils and hydrogen peroxide are used to bleach organic cotton.