Sustainable or Organic?
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE COTTON?
If you always relate the word sustainability to organic products, know that you are not the only one. Because of the apparent affinity of the purposes of the two words, this confusion exists. Many people come to understand that sustainable cotton is the same thing as organic cotton. However, we have a news: they are completely different things.
Sustainable cotton is grown in a traditional way, using cutting-edge technologies that enable pest control and help maintain the quality standard of the fiber, that is, the cotton is fully used!
To be considered sustainable, cotton needs to respect the three basic pillars of the concept of sustainability:
Environmental: production must preserve the environment in which it operates - do not deforest, promote good ecological practices, such as the conscious use of pesticides, and have an effective program for the intelligent use of water.
Social: production must respect any and all systems involving companies and institutions, working for dignified and bilateral relations between the parties. Here is the valorization of employees in a production chain and the total fight against slave and child labor.
Economic: production must promote fair economic practices that contribute to the development of its market and country ecosystem.
WHAT IS ORGANIC COTTON?
Organic cotton comes from a production technique that does not allow the use of pesticides or synthetic (chemical) fertilizers, as well as technologies such as transgenic seeds. Organic crops are generally grown on smaller land and meet limited demand, as they depend exclusively on natural factors.
Because of reduced quantity production, organic cotton ends up having a much higher market value. This means that for the end consumer, a piece of clothing, for example, will cost much more than if it were made with conventionally grown fiber.
Now you know the difference between organic cotton and sustainable cotton, you have plenty of arguments to support more conscious choices!