Globally around 26 million tonnes of cotton were produced in 2018-19, the demand keeps on increasing and farmers are met with some hard choices when cultivating the crop. Unfortunately many still choose to use intensive farming techniques to generate more yield despite the growing demand for organic cotton.
At BetterSwitchGreen we would firstly like to address the global problem of water consumption to grow cotton. Whether it’s organic or not, cotton needs on average 20 000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of cotton (1 pair of jeans). There are some great benefits to growing organic cotton for example:
- No modified seeds
- No pesticides
- No water pollution from pesticides
- Cotton is pure with no chemicals
- Uses about 20% less water
- Safer for farmers/cotton pickers
- Higher quality product
Despite the many benefits of organic cotton, we would like to point out the number of textiles that are discarded and thrown out and the possibilities of recycling cotton as well as many other fibres. At Betterswitchgreen we like to provide our clients with more solutions than organic cotton eg, hemp, linen, nettle and bamboo.
