About organic cotton

What is the difference between organic cotton and regular cotton?

Cotton is a natural material and one of the most familiar materials to Japanese people.
But did you know that there is also organic cotton, which is cotton that is grown organically?
What is organic cotton?
Let's consider the difference between it and conventional cotton.

What is organic cotton?

Differences in fertilizers used to grow cotton

Originally, cotton was grown using many scientific fertilizers and pesticides.
The reason for this is that various scientific fertilizers and pesticides are needed to keep pests away, prevent mold, sterilize, and make it difficult for weeds to grow.
Although these chemical fertilizers and pesticides make it easier to grow large amounts of cotton steadily, they also have a negative impact on the growers' bodies, reduce the nutrients in the cotton ring, and pollute the groundwater.
However, organic cotton does not use any of the scientific fertilizers and pesticides mentioned above, and is grown using only organic fertilizers that meet standards.
Certification cannot be obtained simply by not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides; more than three years of experience are required, and a third-party organization assesses the fields and cultivation history.
Only after certification by a third-party organization can it be called "organic cotton."

Why use organic cotton?

We can see the differences between conventional cotton, but even though the quality and residual chemical fertilizers and pesticides are the same, the reason why people prefer organic cotton is still because of the environmental issues and the harmful effects it causes to producers.
Organic cotton is an attractive material that is not only kind to the environment, but also to people.
However, in my personal opinion, it is also true that if everyone on the planet used organic cotton, children working in cotton cultivation in India and other countries (child labor issues) and ordinary people would lose their jobs.
As a global issue, I think we need to make some fundamental change.

summary

Organic cultivation is a time-consuming and labor-intensive method, so it's only natural that the price of the yarn and fabric is higher than that of conventional cotton.
In recent years, as the world has begun to change its attitude toward the environment, ordinary people are being asked to change their awareness and efforts toward the environment, even if only a little.