Did You Know?
Knowledge is Power - the more informed you are about the cotton growing industry, the more empowered you will feel each time you purchase an organic t-shirt. Here are some facts that everyone should be aware of in order to make a wise choice as a consumer:
- It takes 1/3 pound of pesticides to grow enough cotton to make just one conventional cotton t-shirt.
- Cotton uses approximately 25% of the world’s insecticides.
- The Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton as "possible", "likely", "probable", or "known" human carcinogens (acephate, dichloropropene, diuron, flumenturon, pendimethalin, tribufos, and trifluralin).
- In 1999, a work crew re-entered a cotton field about 5 hours after it was treated with tribufos and sodium chlorate (re-entry should have been prohibited for 24 hours). Seven workers sought immediate medical treatment and five have had ongoing health problems ever since.
Resources: USDA, EPA, and California DPR
