modern life vs. human nature

photo courtesy of aimsorganic

You may think that a little thing like a t-shirt doesn’t make a difference in the whole scheme of “saving the earth” or stopping global warming or promoting sustainability but I am a true believer in the idea that every little bit counts. As such, I have decided to buy only organic cotton t-shirts based mostly on two little gems of information that I have stumbled upon:

1)Conventional cotton farming uses synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that deplete the soil thus requiring an average of 744 gallons of water to produce enough cotton for one t-shirt. (ie. 9 years of drinking water for the average human)

2)Pesticides and fertilizers used in conventional cotton farming enter the food chain because beef and diary cows are fed cotton straw cottonseed meal and waste from cotton gins. These are all considered by-products so cotton is not regulated as a food crop. The majority of the cotton plant ends up in the human supply. 60% of the harvested cotton is seed, which is pressed into oils that are used in everything from cookies to canned tuna. The side effects of eating food contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers are cancer, birth defects, endocrine disruption and nervous system disorders.

Quite simply, the more organic cotton we purchase the less likely we are to waste water or get some form of horrible disease! That is good enough for me..well besides the fact that organic cotton seems to feel softer without all those pesticides..ewww!

If you need to know where to find organic cotton tees or other organic cotton clothing(believe me you won’t look like a dirty hippy) just look around most retailers are carrying organic tees now and judging by the latest fashion trade show in Las Vegas there are a ton of cool, fresh designs on organic tees.

You can also find organic tees at places like Mountain Equipment Co-op(good company even though they may lack some style) the gap(not so good), H&M(they seem to be trying..) But hey, I don’t want to confuse the message here…so as long as we are buying an organic tee we are helping. Go shop.