Fabric Friday - Organic Cotton
German and English version.
As we promised in the last post, today is all about organic cotton! How is it different from conventional cotton? What boxes does organic cotton need to tick to be labelled organic?
Wie im letzten Beitrag versprochen, dreht sich heute alles um Bio-Baumwolle. Wie unterscheidet sie sich von konventioneller Baumwolle? Welche Punkte muss Bio-Baumwolle erfüllen, um als Bio-Baumwolle gekennzeichnet zu werden?
What is cotton?
Can you see that cute plant on the picture above? That is the ready-to-harvest cotton plant - it has once been a seed, a bud and a blossom. The white fluff is removed from the plant and the seed inside is taken out, then the fluff is spun into thread and afterwards woven into fabric. Cotton is a a natural fibre and therefore does not contribute to plastic pollution, but it has other ways of harming the environment- and conventional cotton is doing exactly that. But, thank god, there is better version of cotton: organic cotton.What does organic mean in cotton?
Basically, organic cotton works with nature and not against it. The definition of "organic" states that no gene manipulation is allowed (like gm-seeds) and no toxic chemical fertilizers may be used. Organic cotton...- is good for insects and small animals since they aren't exposed to the harsh chemicals used for conventional cotton
- protects the environment
- is grown on humus which is built organically by crop rotation, mixed cultivation and composting
- uses rainwater efficiently and therefore protects groundwater
- uses only natural methods such as plant traps, beneficial insects or a healthy and balanced soil for pest control
- is grown on fields where weeds are removed by hand or avoided by mixed cultivation or the usage of natural pest control
A little more detailed?
Organic cotton lowers the environmental footprint by using less water and energy than conventional cotton does. Cotton is usually grown in areas that are low on water anyway - no need to use the precious groundwater for watering fields if you can use rainwater instead. By growing cotton sustainably, the soil is happy and healthy and can store (rain)water better - so the plant doesn't have to be watered as often. By using only natural fertilizers, the health of the soil is contained, and the people who work in the fields are not exposed to these chemicals. The workers and their families are safe since they don't have to worry about how everything they touch or eat may be poisoned by the chemicals used in the fields. Please remember that many farmers do not understand the language on the labels of toxins used in conventional cotton cultivation. Therefore a safe usage cannot be guaranteed at all. 99% of the world's cotton is not grown by respecting all the things stated above - but grown conventionally. You as yourself why? The cotton outcome is simply bigger and thus more money is made quicker. But as usual the longterm consequences are not being thought through. If the plants on the fields are not changed on a regular basis and monoculture is cultivated, the soil will lose its potential to nurture the plants grown on it. By changing the type of plant every year, the soil has a chance to recover and be used sustainably in the long term. How exactly? For example of organic cotton, the next year chilis are cultivated on the same field. Just a thought: What if you could save 436l of water, the energy use of a lamp that is turned on for an hour, the CO2 of a car that drives 1km by buying our QUITO T-Shirt instead of a T-shirt from a fast fashion company?Certificates
While food-brands have to be certified to be able to say that they are using organic ingredients or that their vegetables are organically grown, fashion companies can just say that their cotton is organic- and it doesn't necessarily have to be certified. You may have noticed that we aren't certificated- but we will be soon. And while the organic cotton fabric we source is in fact always certified, we as a brand are not yet. In case you want to dive even deeper into the topic: Have a look at this website: About Organic Cotton
Wie im letzten Beitrag versprochen, dreht sich heute alles um Bio-Baumwolle. Wie unterscheidet sie sich von konventioneller Baumwolle? Welche Punkte muss Bio-Baumwolle erfüllen, um als Bio-Baumwolle gekennzeichnet zu werden?
Was ist Baumwolle?
Siehst du die Pflanze auf dem Bild oben? Das ist die erntereife Baumwollpflanze - sie war einmal ein Samen, eine Knospe und eine Blüte. Der weiße Flaum wird von der Pflanze entfernt und der Samen im Inneren herausgenommen, dann wird der Flaum zu einem Faden gesponnen und zu einem Stoff gewebt oder gestrickt. Baumwolle ist zwar eine Naturfaser und trägt daher nicht zur Erdverschmutzung durch Plastik bei, aber sie hat andere Möglichkeiten, die Umwelt zu schädigen - und genau das tut die konventionelle Baumwolle. Aber zum Glück gibt es noch eine andere Version von Baumwolle: Bio-Baumwolle.Was ist Organic and der Baumwolle?
Im Grunde arbeitet Bio-Baumwolle mit der Natur und nicht gegen sie. Die Definition von "bio" besagt u.a. , dass keine Genmanipulation (wie z.B. GM-Samen) und keine giftigen chemischen Düngemittel verwendet werden dürfen. Biologische Baumwolle:- ist gut für Insekten und Kleintiere, da sie nicht den aggressiven Chemikalien ausgesetzt sind.
- schützt die Umwelt, die Erde das Grundwasser
- wird auf Humus angebaut, der durch Fruchtfolge, Mischkultur und Kompostierung organisch aufgebaut wird
- nutzt Regenwasser effizient zur Bewässerung und schützt so das Grundwasser
- setzt zur Schädlingsbekämpfung nur natürliche Methoden wie Pflanzenfallen, nützliche Insekten oder einen gesunden und ausgewogenen Boden ein
- wird auf Feldern angebaut, auf denen Unkraut von Hand entfernt oder durch Mischkultur vermieden wird