Simply, it’s healthier for you, the people who grow and work with it and for our environment.
It feels good, it is preferable for those with sensitive skin and it’s soft. Read on.
When grown according to the principles of intensive agriculture, cotton is one of the most ecologically destructive crops. In response to disease and pests, the majority of cotton producers become dependent on a chemical arsenal which impacts heavily upon the soil and surrounding environment. The scale of this problem can be understood from estimations that cotton production accounts for one quarter of the total volume of pesticides used throughout the world each year. Continued application of these pesticides contributes to sterile soils. Because they become devoid of the living organisms which promote normal nutrient recovery and plant growth, sterile soils are dependent upon a continual application of synthetic fertilisers.
The World Health Organization estimates that globally at least three million people are poisoned by pesticides every year and more than 200,000 people die.
Of all insecticides used globally each year, the estimated amount used on traditional cotton is 25%. Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S.A. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin) are known cancer-causing chemicals.
Conventional cotton cultivation uses almost 60% of all toxic chemicals produced in India. Besides the environmental and health problems this creates, pesticide and fertilizer use often exhausts soils, resulting in a negative spiral of pesticide usage and debt for the farmers.
Information is taken from WHO (World Health Organization) and The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which is part of the WHO. IARC’s mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer prevention and control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses and fellowships. For more information visit www.iarc.fr and www.who.org
The Green Pavilion with green buzz 