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Organic cotton, also called bio cotton, is the ecological alternative to traditional cotton. Organic cotton is grown according to strict standards and regulations: organic farmers are not allowed to use pesticides, chemicals, but the can only adopt methods and materials that have a positive impact on the environment, with production systems that keep fertile the soil, prohibiting the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or GMO cultivation systems.
Organic cotton aims not only to preserve the health of the soil where the cotton is grown, but it also sustains social justice and respect for the people involved in the various processes of production and it cares about the sustainability of the planet for the generations to come.
The intensification of the use of natural resources has led to an imbalance that if it won’t be corrected in the next 30 years, will become not only unstoppable, but worse, irreversible.
The use of organic cotton grown naturally, without the use of synthetic chemicals, means a 46% reduction in global warming and a 90% saving in fresh water compared to traditional cotton.
Textile Exchange produced a peer-reviewed Organic Cotton Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in 2014 using the LCA produced by Cotton Inc. in 2012 as a baseline from which to draw comparisons between organic and chemically grown cotton. Textile Exchange used the same organization (thinkstep - previously known as PE International) and the same methodology used by Cotton Inc. to ensure the results were consistent and comparable. Textile Exchange’s LCA indicated that growing cotton organically rather than conventionally has the potential to create a number of environmental savings.
In 2016/2017, approximately 117,525 metric tons of organic cotton were grown by 220,478 farmers on 472,999 hectares of organic certified land in 18 countries. Organic cotton production represented approximately 0,5% of global cotton production in 2014/2015 and major producers are: India (51%), China (19%), Kyrgyzstan (7%), Turkey (7%), Tajikistan (5%), USA (4%), the remaining 7% is distributed in 11 other countries.
BIOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE
WITHOUT PESTICIDES
LIMITED USE OF WATER
Whilst the LCA benefits presented help us assess the inputs and impacts of farm production systems, it is important to understand this assessment is limited to a restricted set of criteria more suitable for a factory than a farm. With agriculture, there is a strong reliance on natural resources: land, water, sunlight, nutrients, soil, and biodiversity, making modeling of these “open” systems difficult and ever-changing. Organic production systems do not just reduce toxic and persistent pesticides; they eliminate their use. It is not only about the volume of water and the ability to retain water but also about the quality of water.