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Organic Cotton Baby Clothing > Why Organic? |
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Cotton provides over 50% of global fibre needs & uses 25% of all insecticides & 11% of all pesticides used in agricultural farming & because it’s not a food crop the toxins are not as strictly regulated.
Production that takes part in developing countries often involves substances that are banned in this country. An estimated 20,000 people a year die due to these toxins. In the West African State of Benin, one of the worlds poorest countries, cotton pesticides have killed at least 61 men, women & children between 1999 & 2001.
Normal cotton production is also very damaging to the environment. The toxins from the pesticides, insecticides & chemical dyes can also be carried into the local eco system, polluting rivers, killing plants & animals & poisoning water supplies.
It can also involve poorly paid child labour. Children as young as nine, are being used in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan. Conditions for these children are awful & over 2 years 8 children have died & many more have contracted serious illnesses & suffered malnutrition “this year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Yet the clothes we wear are produced by people who are forced to work too hard for too little”.
Organic Cotton production uses no chemical pesticides, insecticides or dyes so there’s no danger to the farmers, manufacturers, the environment or our children’s delicate developing bodies & immune systems.
Organic Cotton is sold at a real price. The Cotton farmers are paid fairly & all the workers are ensured a decent wage & good working conditions. This does mean organic cotton baby clothes are slightly more expensive than the cheaper high street shops or supermarkets but it also means no one has been exploited.
Do the smell test! Because organic cotton baby clothes are not finished with formaldehyde, like some ordinary cotton clothes are, they smell clean & natural instead of that strong chemical smell - try it for yourself, next time you’re at the supermarket have a sniff at the cotton baby bodies or T-shirts & consider whether you really want these next to your babies delicate skin.
Chemical residues can remain on the garment and can be absorbed into our skins. Organic cotton baby clothing is less likely to trigger allergies and is an all round healthier and more natural option.
The choice we make today affects our children’s tomorrow so let’s all Go Organic! |
