30 November 2006

Christmas - Organic Cotton

Keep an eye out for organic cotton products this Christmas.

Cotton crops in India, America and China demand thousands of tonnes of pesticides, which are sprayed on fields from the air. Just one t-shirt takes an estimated 150g of pesticide to cultivate.

Cotton is extremely prone to insect attack and, with over-use of pesticides, it means that insects are building immunity. Growers then need to increase their use of pesticides simply to ensure crop survival.

We can break that cycle if we support growers of organic cotton.

Another option are shirts that are a blend of organic hemp and organic cotton. Using 55% hemp in a t-shirt, instead of 100% cotton, saves more than 100 gallons of water.

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