Why Buy Organic Clothing?

Let’s learn the facts about non-organic cotton

What’s the deal with an organic T-shirt? Isn’t it just the same as non-organic? But a little more expensive? My mom now only buys organic clothing since we told her the facts about non-organic cotton. 

Here are some facts about cotton fabrics: First of all, you may be shocked to know that it takes 2700 liters of water to make one T-shirt. And globally, people sell and buy two billion T-shirts per a year. 

Cotton plants require tons of water and insecticides and pesticides - actually more than any other crop. As you can imagine, that damages our ecosystem including our water, air and soil. Once the cotton is sent to a factory, workers bleach and color the fabric with harmful compounds and chemicals. They also use fossil-fuel based fertilizers to grow cottons.

Organic cotton uses no insecticides or pesticides - and according to Soil Association, organic cotton can be grown using 91% less water than non-organic cotton. Also, organic cotton produces roughly 46% less *CO2e compared to conventional cotton. But organic cotton production amounts to only 1% of the world's total. (*CO2e accounts for carbon dioxide as well as the methane, nitrous oxide and other pollutants caused by textile manufacturing.)

Look around a shopping mall clothing store. Much of what you find is either non-organic cotton or polyester, nylon or polyamide which is from fossil fuel. In addition, fast fashion companies have to produce garments as quickly as they can. This leads them to produce overseas in countries where the costs are as low as possible. This makes for low wages and poor conditions for workers.

The world now consumes about 400% more clothing than in the 1990's. Ask your parents if they had a hard time finding clothing when they were younger. I would expect that the answer would be no. They had enough clothing to wear back then and just wore it for a longer time. 

Nowadays, many people treat clothing as a disposable product. If you educate yourself, you can choose the right clothing for your wallet, your health and Earth.

Now you have the knowledge and look around the shop windows, you may feel little different than the way you felt before. That means you are contributing to a better natural environment. 

There are so many organic clothing options available online. All you need to do is search. Some clothing companies actually show you the manufacturing process and what exact materials they use and the environmental costs associated with production. And usually they will come with sustainable packaging, too. It makes you feel better when you wear it and if someone compliments your outfit, you have a story to tell!