Organic Cotton is different...Vs Conventional Cotton

By choosing organically grown cotton, you can recap all the benefits of cotton's beauty, comfort, and strength while minimizing harm to people and the plant. In generally, there are five aspects (Seed Preparation, Soil & Water, Weed Control, Pest Control and Harvesting), which are different between Organic cotton and Conventional cotton.

Seed Preparation

Organic

- Use Untreated seeds.
- Never uses GMO (Genetically modified organism) seeds.


Conventional
- Typically treats seeds with Fungicides or Insecticides.
- Use GMO seeds for approximately 70% of US-grown cotton.

Soil & Water

Organic
- Builds strong soil through Crop rotation.
- Retains water more efficiently thanks to increased Organic matter in the soil.

Conventional
- Applies Synthetic fertilizers.
- Loss of soil due to predominantly Mono-Crop culture.
- Requires Intensive irrigation.

Weed Control

Organic
- Physical removal rather than chemical destruction.
- Controls weeds through cultivation and Hand hoeing.

Conventional
- Applies Herbicides to soil to inhibit weed germination.
- Repeatedly uses Herbicides to kill weeds that do grow.

Pest Control

Organic
- Maintains a Balance between "pests" and their natural.
- Uses Beneficial insects, biological and culture practices to control pests.
- May use Trap crop, planted to lure insects away from the cotton.

Conventional
- Uses Insecticides heavily, accounting for approximately 25% of world consumption.
- Uses Pesticides; the nine most common are highly toxic; five are probable carcinogens.
- Frequently uses Aerial spraying with potential drift onto farm workers, neighboring wildlife and communities.

Harvesting

Organic
- Relies mostly on the seasonal Freeze for defoliation.
- May stimulate defoliation through Water management.

Conventional
- Defoliates with toxic Chemicals.

Do you believe the clothing is made of Organic Cotton?

How do you know clothing is made of organic cotton?

In general, organic cotton can be identified by tag, label, green logo or other mark from an offical certification body qualifying it as certified. So, prior to call the cotton as "organic, it has met stringent stanrards at each stage of production, which from planting, carding, spinning, milling, storage, manufacturing, wholesaling to retailing. It also has met on-site monitoring tests of soil and water, and passed audits at each step.

Internationally, there are no harmful substance standards or single certification for organic cotton among countries that have "organic" regulations. Worldwide there is a confusing array of federal and state government regulations, national certifications, voluntary standards and logos, accreditation systems, and local and privte sector requirements for organic products. In global market, there are some influential organizations are working on supporting organic textiles.

* International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM)

*Organic Trade Association (OTA) in the US

* Soil Association in the UK

* International Association of Natural Textile Industry (IVN) in Germany

* Demeter in Europe and internationally

Is there any regulations for "organic products"?

In the US, the Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program (NOP) regulates what constitutes an "organic product" under the Organic Foods Production Act. In addition, some states such as California, Texas, Oregon, Washington...etc, have their own organic programs with additional requirements.

Under USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) labelling, the garment should state what percent of the product is "organic cotton". The retailer must be able to provide documents to support their claim. This certificaion demonstrates that the cotton has met stringent requirement at each stage of proceeding and was grown using enviromentally-friendly agricultural methods. In order to carry the USDA Organic logo, any product sold in the US, must have been inspected by an agent of the USDA certification program.

Besides, there is no USDA standards for organic textiles, but rather for organic cotton. It is because the regulations apply to the actual cotton, and not the finished cotton textile. So, it is possible that a cotton garment made from 100% certified organic cotton may not be fully "organic" or fully "green", as it could still contain harsh chemical finishes, bleaches or some heavy metal dyes.

In last, product with claimed "organic cotton" with certification that regarding to the process and not to the acutal product. Cotton that met a particular country's certification requirements ia all the "proof" available that the cotton is "organic".

For more information on retailers using organ ic cotton, visit the Organic Consumer marketplace at:

http://www.organicexchange.org/consumer_marketplace.php

What is Organic Cotton?

Organic Cotton is grown in a manner that strives to reduce or eliminate chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers; thus producting a more "environmentally friendly" product. However, there is controversy between conventional cotton growers and organic practitioners as to whose farming practicies promote the greater environmental good.

Organtic cotton growers are perceived as being kinder to the environment because they employ non-chemical farming methods, such as crop rotation and mulching to control weeds, fertilize with organic matter instead of synthetics, make use of beneficial insects for pest control and ban genetically engineered seeds.

Conventional growers contend that by using bio-engineered seeds, synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, they provide greater crop yields than organic framers and thus grow more cotton on less land. Since this spares acreage from being converted into farmland and wastes fewer resources, this would be environmentally sound. They also mention that there is no scientific studies shown that chemical fertilizers are any more harmful to the environment than organic manure runoff.

Whatever organic or conventional growing practices are used, there is increased consumer interest in products that are labeled "Organic", "Eco-Friendly" or "Green". Protecting the environment and achieving sustainable resources for all people, reflects growing awareness of our global interdependence.

The public perception is that chemicals are the bad thing, and it is better to buy natural products that avoid or minimize the use of chemicals. As the green movement gains momentum, consumers are more willing to pay more for goods that they believe are eco-friendly. This explains the appeal of "Organic Cotton" products.