We wanted to know little more about the subject there for we looked at some facts about the cotton industry.

Transcription

1 ORGANIC COTTON Cotton is one of the products that everybody uses. Every day people sleep under cotton sheets, they wear cotton shirts and even the food they eat has been made with the help of cotton. But what they do not know is that to grow normal cotton the farmers are using enormous amounts of pesticides to produce enough Cotton for the fast cotton industry. Al those Pesticides have a huge impact on the environment and the farmers and workers on the farm have a lot of health risk. There is already a lot of information about organic cotton but still the question remains way is not every brand using organic cotton instate of normal cotton?

2 We wanted to know little more about the subject there for we looked at some facts about the cotton industry. 25% of the pesticides are used on cotton plantations 75% of the cotton is genetically modified The production of one t-shirt requires 2,000 liters of water There is approximately 150 grams of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) needed to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt. Some of these chemicals are considered to be the most toxic chemicals in the world. The health risks of pesticide exposure include birth defects, reproductive disorders and weaker immune systems. According to the World Health Organization up to 20,000 deaths each year are caused by pesticide poisoning in developing countries.

3 After reading this we wondered what organic cotton does differently. What is Organic cotton? Organic cotton is made from a cotton plant that has grown without chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. Insects are contested by other insects or plants sprayed with spice mixtures. Picking cotton is done by hand. In order not to exhaust the farmland is the cultivation of cotton mixed with grains and legumes. Also for organic cotton the rules of water use are really strict to make sure nothing gets wasted. There are standards that describe when cotton can be called organic. GOTS is the most important, (it has 2 different levels) but also the standard of Textile Exchange play s an important role because many large companies are connected with it. Clothing from England mostly uses the Soil Association label on the organic cotton Also it is important that the farmers get a fair price for there cotton. Fairtrade is an organization that wants to ensure that farmers get a fair price for that you can look at the fairtrade logo Another major drawback that sticks to cotton is child labour. In many countries, children are forced to work in cotton farming. This allows them to not go to school, and the development of the area even more threatened. Several organizations such as the Fair Wear Foundation focus on improving working conditions in the making of cotton. All these organizations are trying to improve the way that cotton is made but still it is our job to buy it the right way.

4 With our interview we wanted to know why they started to use organic cotton, if they know the working conditions of their farmers and if it is a problem for them economically to use organic cotton instead of normal cotton. MUD jeans is a company that really tries to improve the world of cotton. They have multiple ways in doing so. They work with companies like Better Cotton initiative (BCI) and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) GOTS is one of the leaders when it comes to organic cotton. BCI helps farmers to produce cotton in an efficient way. Also they found it really important that the work circumstances are honest and good. They only work with selected farmers that can guarantee the safety for the employees. A big part of the company is about recycling jeans so we made an appointment to talk to the company about this and their way of working with cotton. So we were wondering how does the recycle of jeans work? Well we sent old jeans to a factory in Italia were they get ripped in pieces and then get mixed with new organic cotton and then we make a yarn out of that. And how many times can you reuse the recycled material? Actually you can keep recycling till thee and of times, you just have to recycle it with new organic cotton so the fabric stays strong and it doesn t loose its quality. Oke but then the material stays just as strong as normal cotton? Yes it does because of the mix. It can t exist only on recycled cotton and it off course can be that the material has a deferent kind of feeling but that does not mean it is a bad feeling.

5 When we looked in to your site we also saw some information about the use of water can you tell us a bit more about that? Well we know that water is not an easy thing to get in these countries but for the Cotton process we need a lot of water. To make 1 jeans you need litter of water, but with recycling it s much less because you need to produce les new cotton. DNM textiles mill has produced a really great filter that reuses 85% of the water that is used in production and that does not throw away any water. Also our Factory in Tunisia works with a laundry machine that recycles 90% of all the water. When the company first started was is already an organic cotton user or did that idea come later? No when we first started the idea was to really start a company that would do it differently, because at that moment (2008) there were not a lot of company s that worked with organic fabrics. And why did MUDjeans find it important to do it differently? Well the founder of the company, Bert van Son worked in china and saw that fast fashion had a lot of consequents for the workers as well as the environment. He wanted to change the way of production and started a company called Lease A Jeans, which is now called Cotton Lease this is a way of consuming without regret. Then he made MUDjeans a clothing brand that produces differently and thinks more about the workers and the environment. Oke, but how do you really know if the work surcomsenes are good in the factory s that you use? Dionne Vijgenboom is our denim expert. She goes to the factories in Tunisia to check and see if they work in the right way. Also we have connection with Fairware Foundation that helps us with finding the right factory s that work in the right way.

6 When it comes to money, does it cost more to produces in the right way? Yes for sure. Organic cotton can only be produced twice a year were the normal cotton can be produced four times a year. This means that the organic cotton cost twice more to buy it and we also give the farmers an honest pay for there cotton so that is probably a bit more that other company s would pay for it.

7 After our interview, we asked ourselves where do they sell organic cotton? Research has shown that nowadays quite a lot of stores sell clothes made from organic cotton. Such as C & A, we, H & M but also the wellknown fashion label Stella McCartney focuses on organic cotton. H & M has recently been named the largest buyer of organic cotton in the world. It thus appears that, although the proportion of organic cotton worldwide is only 1%, there are many small brands, bigger brands and fashion houses that trade in organic cotton. There is increasing demand in organic cotton, but we as consumers need to do more and therefore we need to know whiche piece of clothing is made from organic cotton and which is not. The brands who sell organic cotton need to present there product better, so we as consumer know immediately if we buy organic or conventional cotton. When we as consumer buy more and more organic cotton we trigger the production and sale of organic cotton. These choices can help to stop killing our farmers, destroy our rivers and improve our environment. We need to consider organic along with style and fit.

8 Because of the fact that organic cotton is not used by every brand, we wondered what the advantages and disadvantages could be of organic cotton. To start with the disadvantages, organic cotton often has a smaller harvest and can only be harvested twice a year. Normal cotton on the other hand produces a bigger harvest and can be harvested four times a year. This makes clear that organic cotton causes a lower yield, what makes it more expensive than normal cotton, and so we buy ourselves clothes that are not made out of organic cotton. Another disadvantage of organic cotton is the fact that the harvest has a bigger chance of failure because there is no use of pesticides. The West does not have direct problems with the production of normal cotton. The most important thing for them is fast production and high yield, to buy a lot of clothes for little money. But for the people who live and work in these countries where the normal cotton is produced, it is better to start with producing organic cotton. The advantages of organic cotton mean a lot to them. By replacing normal cotton by organic cotton, the environment will get cleaner because there is no more use of pesticides and chemicals. Not only the environment but also the health of the people will get better. The pesticides and chemicals cannot infect the water and the ground anymore if they are not used. Also the farmers will save a lot of money by not using these chemicals anymore. The production of cotton, also organic cotton, needs warmth and water. This is why, most of the time, cotton is produced in tropical and subtropical areas. This means that cotton plantations are particularly located in Africa, South-America, Asia (mostly India) and Australia. But it can also be produces in the United States and in South-Europe. The cotton plant is very sensitive to bad weather, bacteria, weeds, etc. Because of this, many pesticides are used in the production of normal cotton. These toxics are dangerous to the farmer, who sprays these substances at its plants, but also for his family and community. This is because to the toxics used by the farmer come in the soil and mix with the surface water.

9 In the production of organic cotton natural pesticides are used. The seeds are natural and not genetically modified so the farmers are allowed to replant them unlike conventional cotton cultivation that requires the farmers to buy new seeds every season. In organic cotton cultivation the farmers cooperate with the nature instead of against it and by using less chemicals, there is a greater biodiversity. For example by putting the crops/plants in a way that harmful insects cannot reach the cotton plant or by using vegetable oil to spray on the plants. These methods are harmless to the plants and people, and make the ground itself healthier. Organic cotton uses less water and no pesticides to grow, and therefore the production of organic cotton is healthier for the farmer and his environment, but it is also better for the whole world.

10 Social: Agricultural practices in organic cotton cultivation promote better social and working conditions for farmers cotton workers cotton workers who suffer poisening from pesticides organic cotton non-organic cotton Poisening from pesticides.

11 Environment: organic cotton makes more efficient use of water, keep the soil clean and prevents the use of harmful chemicals. organic cotton 6 CO2 normal cotton 100 CO2 CO2 emissions. 2,000 liters of water Amount of water used for one T-shirt of normal cotton. Source:

12 Economic: only in the longer term economic, not short-term. Organic cotton has more chance of harvest failure, less cotton to sell so a lower yield. Poor farmers can not afford to grow organic cotton. Only economically when everyone chooses organic cotton over conventional cotton. normal cotton production in one year organic cotton production in one year Production per year. Source: interview MUD Jeans

13 normal cotton organic cotton Difference in price. Source: interview MUD Jeans