Organic Cotton

“Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture. Third-party certification organizations verify that organic producers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production.”

“It takes one pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to conventionally grow the three pounds of cotton needed to make a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.”

-The Organic Trade Association June 2007

Links:

The Organic Trade Association

• http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/organic_cotton.html
• http://www.ota.com/organic/benefits/generic.html
• http://www.ota.com/organic/faq.html

The Pesticide Action Network North America

• http://www.panna.org/resources/cotton.html

Farm Worker Illness Following Exposure to Carbofuran and Other Pesticides -- Fresno County, California, 1998

• http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056485.htm

Pesticide exposure claims another child labourer's life

• http://www.laborrights.org/press/pesticide_child_india0604.htm