How well do you know your #fabrics?
This week we explore cotton.
Grown on the plant that shares its name, It is the 2nd most common fabric after polyester. Reports suggest that on a global scale cotton takes between 21-26% of the textile market.
Many see cotton as being a positive ‘natural’ fabric. Conventional cotton agriculture is interconnected through environmental, social and economic challenges - back in colonial days it was the crop that put 1.8 million slaves into the American cotton fields. Even now, it is still plagued with issues, at grave cost to both human life and the environment. According to textile exchange only 15% of current cotton production falls under the preferred or sustainable category.
Cotton in its natural state is both renewable and biodegradable, when untreated and not blended with other (non-biodegradable) fibres or dyed with toxic chemicals.
According to Made-By - the not-for-profit environmental benchmark for fibres classifies cotton accordingly (A being the best, E being the worst):
Recycled cotton - Class A
Organic cotton - Class B
In conversion cotton* - Class B
Conventional cotton - Class E
*Cotton in Conversion allows farms growing cotton organically to sell their crop while they are in the process of getting certified.
To put this into context conventional cotton is placed in the same category as viscose, rayon and nylon.
What, more specifically, are the negative impacts of cotton?
Cotton and water - cotton uses A LOT of water. Whats more, it’s commonly farmed in arid conditions and according to studies it can take more than 2,700 litres of water to produce just 1 t-shirt. There is also considerable water usage, wastage and pollution in its use of pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers and chemicals in the production process - contaminants that render the water unfit for further use. Moreover, when dying fabric it is costly to safely dispose of the hazardous chemicals used and when coupled with pressure to produce clothing more cheaply river systems can be contaminated as a result. In China it is estimated that up to 70% of rivers and lakes are contaminated by 2.5 billion gallons of wastewater produced by the fashion industry.
Cotton and chemicals - Insights from A New Textiles Economy Report says that cotton production uses 2.5% of the world’s arable land and accounts for 16% of all pesticides used. In India, 50% of all pesticides used are for cotton production and this also has negative impacts for the health of farmers. Whats more, 3 of the 10 most severely hazardous insecticides are commonly used to grow cotton. Spraying chemical defoliants on the cotton crops removes the leaves from the cotton plants to make the cotton balls easier to reach. Large amounts of oil and fuel can be used by the harvesting and production machinery and the planes used for aerial spraying.
Cotton and the land - Consistent planting of cotton depletes nutrients in the soil. Crop rotation and composting would be important to help improve the health of the soil.
Cotton and GMO’s - cotton is one of the top 3 genetically modified crops in the world. This GM seed is mostly “Bt cotton”. These seeds contain Bt toxins - supposedly resistant to various pests - specifically the bollworm which can be disastrous. GMO’s lead to loss of biodiversity. China, India, Pakistan and the US have adopted Bt cotton seed. It’s impact in India is particularly noteworthy. GMO seeds now account for 89% of cotton planted in India and as of 2015, very sadly, more than 12,500 Indian cotton farmers died by suicide. Suggestions are that the introduction of GMO cotton has noticeably worsened the lives of Indian farmers. According to campaigners this is a result of the high price of genetically modified seeds flooding the market, which puts pressure on poorly paid growers, forcing many into debt. GMO seeds can’t be reproduced, they have been modified - so when it comes to replanting, farmers must buy new seeds every year.
To make matters worse due to the high demand and government regulated prices, many farmers must buy their Bt cotton seeds on the black market for prices much higher than the market value (about 3 to 8 times the price of conventional seeds) - hence the resulting debt which cannot be repaid. Unfortunately it gets worse, although Bt cotton should prevent pests, reports have indicated otherwise. Monsanto, a company known for selling GMO seeds where farmers must also purchase its pesticides to manage the resulting crops, sells sprays that are banned in the West yet are used by farmers without protective gear or training. In fact in 2012 a French court found them guilty of chemically poisoning a farmer who reported suffering neurological problems after using one of the company’s herbicides. And in 2020 Bayer (who now owns Monsanto) agreed to pay $10 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging that Roundup (a herbicide produced by the company) causes cancer. Even more tragic is the fact that Indian farmers often commit suicide by swallowing the pesticides they cannot afford to pay off.
Cotton and human life - the industry employs approximately 350 million people. This can fluctuate depending on market conditions - if a crop is strong, great, however, if it fails workers face extreme hardship. Forced and child labour is sadly all too prevalent. The US Department of Labour in 2016 reported the existence of forced and child labour within cotton production in 18 countries, 8 of which were in the top ten producers, responsible for more than 80% of the world’s cotton. They were India, China, Pakistan, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Burkina Faso. That said the ILO (International Labour Organisation) has said that most forced labour has been eliminated from Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.
Our verdict.
Ok so this doesn’t make for great reading but you need to know every aspect of the industry so as to equip yourselves with the knowledge to make better choices and find safer alternatives.
What’s the good?
When done sustainably cotton can provide millions of farmers around the world with good income and help improve their lives. Organic cotton for example doesn’t contain all of the harmful chemicals mentioned and also has other advantages. Some of the hazardous chemicals used in production can actually be detected in our clothes, so going organic isn’t just beneficial for farmers and producers but consumers too! What’s also advantageous is that organic cotton seeds are cheaper than Bt cotton seeds, helping farmers escape the devastating cycle of debt and poverty.
Using less pesticides is better for the planet, farmers health, you the designer and the end consumers. Be aware though that this covers farming and not cotton production - make sure you check that anyone using organic cotton also applies high standards of ethics to their production practices.
Recycled cotton is also a great option, this can be mechanically recycled cotton and derived from pre and post consumer waste.
In 2018, 36 major brands pledged to use 100% sustainable cotton by 2025. They include Adidas, ASOS, H&M and Burberry.
Blockchain is supporting businesses to help trace their cotton throughout their supply chain. Blockchain start up Bext360 has partnered with several brands including C&A and Kering and organisations including Fashion for Good and C&A Foundation to bring more transparency to cotton supply chains by enabling businesses to verify the origins and ethics of the raw materials, fabrics and garments they purchase.
Here is a roundup of organisations with good standards and certifications both social and environmental, to look out for:
Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) - their goal is to increase the use of Recycled materials
The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) - (same organisation as RCS above) objective is to provide brands with a tool for more accurate labelling, encourage innovation in the use of reclaimed materials, establish more transparency in the supply chain and provide better information to consumers.
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) - covers textile processing, manufacturing, packaging, labelling, exportation, importation and distribution. It doesn’t cover the cultivation of the plant - this is covered by governmental organic standards.
Better Cotton Initiative (BCI ) Cotton - BCI is a global community of farmers, ginners, traders, spinners, mills, cut & sew manufacturers, retailers, brands and grassroots organisations committed to developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity. Their system covers three pillars of sustainability; environmental, social and economic.
OEKO-TEX® Certified Cotton - they offer two certifications for textiles: OEKO-TEX® 100 (for products) and OEKO-TEX® 1000 (for production sites/factories). OEKO-TEX® labels aim to ensure that products pose no risk to human health. These products do not contain allergenic dyestuffs or dyestuffs for carcinogenic aryl-amines, and several other banned chemicals. The certification includes thorough testing for a long list of chemicals.
Cotton Connect REEL Cotton Code - this is a three-year agricultural program providing farmers with training on sustainable cotton farming practices. The REEL Cotton Programme is independently verified by a code of conduct developed with FLOCERT, the organization that provides Fairtrade International certification.
Fairtrade International - a global movement for trade. They certify social, economic and environmental standards that apply to the full supply chain from the farmers and workers, to the traders and companies bringing the final product to market. They are certified by a third party accredited certification body FLOCERT.
Fair For Life - they operate under a certification system based on a non-product-specific standard. Most food and non-food commodities alike, including raw materials (like cotton) in the finished product can be certified. Every step of production can be certified, including producers, manufacturers and traders, whereas other certifiers simply certify the finished product or only a couple steps of the production. Another distinguishing aspect of Fair for Life is that they also certify entire companies. No other certifier does this. They are certified by a third party accredited certification body Institute for Market ecology (IMO).
World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) - The WFTO Guarantee System (GS) is a revolutionary Fair Trade system that is credible, clear, and affordable. Developed by a group of experts in the field of Fair Trade monitoring and verification, the major aspects in the development of the GS were credibility, sustainability and robustness of the system. To achieve these three criteria, the GS has five major components: new membership admission procedure, Self-Assessment Report, Monitoring Audit, Peer Visit, and the Fair Trade Accountability Watch (FTAW). The FTAW is a participative monitoring mechanism that allows the public to report compliance issues regarding Fair Trade Organizations. The GS is not a product certification system. It is an assurance mechanism that Fair Trade is implemented in the supply chain and practices of the organization. Members that passed the GS process attain the ‘Guaranteed Fair Trade Organization’ status and may use the WFTO Label on their products.
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