Introduction
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly aware of environmental issues, especially consumers of clothing, who have become increasingly concerned about the environmental impact caused by the fashion industry. Many people have started to pay attention to their t-shirts that are not made of organic cotton or regular cotton. In this article, we focus on the specific differences between the two.
Seeds
Organic cotton: Only 1% of the world’s cotton is organic. The seeds for planting must be non-GMO. Due to low consumer demand, it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain non-GMO seeds.
Ordinary cotton: Traditional cotton is usually planted with GMO seeds. Changes in these genes may have a negative impact on the toxicity and allergies of crops, while a generally unknown impact on the crop yield and environment.
Water consumption
Organic cotton: 91% of water consumption can be reduced during the planting process. 80% of organic cotton is grown in dry land. Watering is not necessary because technologies of composting and crop rotation make the soil more water-absorbing and increase the effectiveness of watering.
Ordinary cotton: Conventional tillage reduces soil water absorption; thus, more water is required.
Chemicals
Organic cotton: It uses non-toxic pesticides which makes farmers, workers, and agricultural communities healthier. (while GMO and pesticides can cause unimaginable harm.)
Ordinary cotton: It occupies 25% of the world’s pesticide usage. Aldicarb, parathion, and methamidophos are the three most dangerous pesticides commonly used in traditional cotton production. Certainly, they are most harmful to human health.
Land
Organic cotton: It reduces 70% acidification and 26% soil erosion, has lower carbon dioxide emissions, and improves soil quality, drought, and flood resistance.
Ordinary cotton: It reduces soil fertility and biodiversity; causes soil erosion and degradation, and its toxic synthetic fertilizer flows into the runoff with rain.
The advantages of organic cotton: it is natural and harmless; its fabric can have a soft hand feeling and bright color. Compare to ordinary cotton, it has better abrasion resistance and elasticity. Also, it overcomes the easy mildew of ordinary cotton products and it won’t cause any allergy to human skin.
Disadvantages of organic cotton: Due to more complicated planting and processing, it takes more time and money than ordinary cotton, so its price is naturally higher. Due to its normal wrinkle resistance, the fabric will wrinkle after washing, and it is easy to stick to hair.
In conclusion, organic cotton and ordinary cotton have their own advantages and disadvantages, so you need to choose suitable fabrics for your own brand according to the brand’s positioning.