Why organic clothing is better for all of us and the planet.
In our last post, we talked about why organic clothing matters and put into context the incredible, ridiculous, outrageous amount of plastic present in what we all wear.
Now we will explore the differences between organic and traditional cotton and why it matters to you, your skin, farmers, and workers, and the planet.
Let’s start by establishing key differences in the farming and production of traditional cotton versus organic cotton.
Not to make it look gloomier, but traditional cotton production represents only 2.5% of the world’s arable land but accounts for 16% of all pesticides used. Additionally, certified organic cotton represents LESS THAN 1% of the materials used by the clothing industry. Plastic represents 63%, traditional cotton 26%, and other materials comprise the rest. And here lies an amazing opportunity for change. Don’t you agree?
When I say our products are made out of 100% certified organic cotton, I see the effort people make not to roll their eyes. “Here we go again… another fad. Why do I need organic cotton?” or “I am not eating it!” Lol
I hear you and I was you!! I had this exact same attitude when I started seeing the organic term popping up around clothes and textiles in general. Confused and annoyed, I was pretty sure companies just wanted to inflate their pricing.
Until one day, almost by accident, I came across a documentary called “The True Cost”.
If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do. It’s available on Netflix. I learned a lot. Fashion was just the tipping point. Then I started asking questions, trying to understand how I missed this for so long. How could I NOT know what was going on? Have I been so blind and selfish? There was so much that I needed to change and there was so much I wanted to do. Call it a mid-life crisis!!
From that moment on, whenever my family and I need to buy new clothes (which is way less often than it was in the past – but that’s subject for another post), I started asking myself: where was it made, how was it made, who made it? What kind of fabric was being used, was organic cotton or other sustainable fabrics used, and at what percentage. When I decided to start Rebel Buda, I made a commitment to be 100% plastic-free, use only organic cotton in our shirts, and only partner with manufacturers that were certified and shared our same values.
Back to organic clothing and people rolling their eyes (at me)…
Risking sounding super preachy… what everyone should know is that organic means a lot more than just the final product. It means how cotton is grown, what it does to the soil, to the farmers working the crops, the amount of water needed, pesticides and insecticides used, etc. There is a BIG difference between organic cotton vs. traditional cotton.
And knowledge gives us the power to push for change.
Finally, I will leave you with 3 additional eye-opening and easy-to-remember facts about organic cotton farming.
*Sources: Organic Trade Association/Aboutorganiccotton.org by Textile Exchange
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Stay tuned for our next blog post and feel free to comment or write me with questions and/or suggestions about themes you would like to see covered in our blog.
*Rebel Buda, Inc. is a public benefit corporation and proud member of 1% for the Planet. We offer 100% certified organic tees and tanks for the whole family so we can rebel for change together.