Cotton: Fashion or Threat

If you are like me, you probably never gave much thought to the fabric that takes up the majority of your wardrobe; cotton. This is why cotton is so dangerous. We don’t think much of it and all the while it is secretly harming our health and well-being. Cotton is widely regarded as natural and pure, just look at that innocent white cotton ball. Surely it can’t be doing all that much harm. In reality, cotton has detrimental health impacts on all levels of production. There are several stages of cotton, and each of these stages has a varying degree of impact. Cotton is first planted and grown as a crop. It is then harvested and transferred to different industries where cotton is made into, clothes, cosmetic uses, toiletries, furniture, and many other products that we use daily. It is transported across the world both before and after the industrial stage. Cotton goes through many stages of use, clothing is the one that sees the most use, as we wear it on our bodies. Lastly cotton is thrown away into landfills where it still makes an impact on human health.

“Cotton takes up 2.5% of the world’s cultivated land but uses 11% of the world’s pesticides and 24% of the world’s insecticides”

— Chapagain, 2006

A Threat in the Ground

Cotton uses more chemical pesticides and insecticides than any other crop (Aktar et al, 2009). These chemicals have been linked with diseases including asthma, autism, developmental disabilities, obesity, diabetes, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer (Owens et al, 2018). These chemicals are dangerous to any farm worker who interacts with cotton but also the general public who drinks water that may contain runoff pesticides. Pesticides found in cotton can prevent the communication of nerve cells leading to impaired memory, severe depression, disruption of the immune system, paralysis and death (EFJ, 2007). Additionally, dioxins found in pesticides can be endocrine disruptors which lead to impaired development and learning disabilities.

Cotton dust is also a problem that is seen to have detrimental health impacts, especially for those who work with cotton. Cotton dust includes plant matter, fibers, bacteria, fungi, soil, pesticides, non-cotton matter, and other contaminants (Hinson AV et al, 2014). The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that there is an extremely high prevalence of respiratory symptoms and byssinosis (lung disease) among cotton mill workers. This needs to be addressed in policy. Some possibilities are better and safer working conditions for cotton workers, regulations on the chemicals that are allowed to be used in cotton crops, and more public health interventions that bring awareness to the issue at hand.

The heath impacts for working farmers is huge, as they are exposed to chemicals in greater length. However, the chemicals people interact with daily from wearing cotton are also real and detrimental. It is even illegal in California to feed livestock leftover cotton pieces, due to the incredibly high amounts of pesticides but are repurposed to make furniture, mattresses, tampons, and cotton balls. This is another huge issue; we are being exposed to cotton that is tainted with chemicals from start to finish in our everyday life.

A Threat in Manufacturing

Once cotton has been harvested, pesticides no longer pose a huge threat to us. The pesticides are still found in the air and water that we are exposed to, but are no longer found in the cotton itself. However, there are new chemicals introduced through the manufacturing process that turns a cotton ball into a garment. These chemicals include PVC, phthalates, and up to 8,000 other chemicals that are used in the processing of textiles, dyeing, treating, printing and finishing (Hailes, 2019). Other chemicals include chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), PFCs (perfluorinated chemicals), flame retardants, ammonia, heavy metals (including lead, chromium, cadmium), and phalates. These are all used for shrink resistance, fire resistance, durability, and whitening. People have sacrificed their health and well-being for appearance sake fire resistant clothing.

A Threat in Our Closet

Have you thrown out half of your closet after learning about all of these health impacts? While the pesticides from cotton crops can no longer harm you by wearing cotton clothing, the chemicals that are used to manufacture cotton clothing sure can. And the scary thing is that we wear these clothes for several hours a day. If you have cotton pajamas you are being even more

exposed. Fast fashion, the idea that fashion is rapidly changing and being sold to the public quickly, compounds the threat of cotton. Americans feel the need to have the latest fashion trends. 60% of the world’s cotton is used for clothing and, in 2014, consumers bought 60% more clothing than in 2000 but they only kept each garment for half the amount of time, as seen in the graphic (McKinsey & Co, 2017). People go through 50 cycles of fashion per year, rather than the traditional two cycles (Morgan et al, 2015). This means that because people are throwing out large amounts of clothing more cotton has to be grown at a quicker rate in order to sustain the increase in the amount of new clothing purchased. Not only that but our landfills are being overcrowded with people’s old clothes. Cotton still poses a threat to our health, even in the landfills. The chemicals mentioned earlier including bleach, formaldehyde, ammonia and heavy metals, still exist in the clothing even in the landfill. After time, these chemicals can be leached into the soil, groundwater, and aquifers near the landfill. When bacteria begin to breakdown the waste, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are the biggest culprits of gas emitted (depending on the waste). The more cotton waste in the landfill, the more ammonia is being released as a gas into the atmosphere. If we cut down on the amount of cotton we are using and producing, we will automatically be cutting down on the detrimental health impacts of cotton.

Alternatives (Roozt, 2017)

While nothing seems as comfortable as your trusted cotton t-shirt, the fashion industry is beginning to recognize they have to make a switch to something other than cotton. Currently they are the second most polluting industry, behind oil (Chhabra, 2016). Kendall Jenner, Carrie Underwood, and Patagonia are all great examples of people who have seen the need for change and made a step in the right direction. Kendall and Carrie have started sporting fashion made from alternative (and just as comfy) fabrics like wood from eucalyptus. Patagonia is a large company that has made the switch to all organic (Chouinard 1997). They have been using organic cotton for their sporting gear products.

Despite their efforts, the public opinion is a hard thing to change. Most consumer perceptions about organic products have not changed and people continue to buy products based on loyalty, fit, style, and brand. Therefore, the question remains, how do you change a consumer’s attitudes and opinions about cotton.

What can you use instead?

If you care at all about your health and our planet, all you have to do is take a quick glance at the tag of the clothes you buy. The majority of people’s wardrobes have many tags that say 100% cotton. If not 100%, then it is some other percentage that is still the majority of the fabric. There are several alternative fabrics that can be used instead of cotton. Here are a few:

Tencel

Get this: tencel is softer than cotton, more breathable, and less prone to wrinkles. If that doesn’t already convince you, keep reading. Tencel is made from Eucalyptus trees and grows quickly. It only requires half an acre of land per ton of fiber. This is in comparison with the two and a half acres of land that cotton uses per ton of fiber. Additionally, tencel uses much less water than cotton. It only requires 155 gallons of water per pound of fiber whereas cotton uses between 700 to 2,000 gallons.

Hemp

Cotton requires nearly twice as much land as hemp does. However, hemp is illegal to grow in the United States without a permit. Therefore, this option is not as viable right now, although many countries are making the change to legalizing this crop. Hemp is allowed to be imported but then it is crucial to factor in the health impacts of transporting goods.

Bamboo

Bamboo requires little water and no pesticides. This crop is able to be harvested every year after it reaches maturity. It is able to grow in many soil types and is a very durable crop. It is also able to be softened in order to resemble cotton more in appearance and feel.

Polyester

Petroleum is the base make up of polyester, therefore not making it the best substitute for cotton. As of now polyester and cotton make up 80% of worldwide fiber production. Recycled polyester does require less energy the non-recycled polyester and much less water than cotton. However, this option is not the most environmentally friendly, as it contributes to global warming, and companies are still trying to discover ways to improve this fiber.

Organic Cotton?

If pesticides and insecticides are the biggest detriments of cotton, then organic cotton should be the solution to all our problems. However, this is not the case. Organic cotton, as of now, represents less than 1% of cotton on the market. One foreseeable downside to using organic cotton as an alternative to conventional cotton is that it takes us much more land than regular cotton (3.5 acers of land per ton of fiber compared to 2.5 acres of land per ton of fiber). It also uses the same amount of water as non-organic cotton. The good news is that organic cotton significantly reduces the exposer to pesticides and all of the disease and sickness that comes with pesticide exposure. However, even with organic cotton, pesticide-free, and all natural, the clothes we wear still end up with toxic chemicals on them due to the processing in the manufacturing industries.

What is Being Done?

There is a push in the fashion industry and it is even extending to farming industries as well to promote sustainable cotton. This is cotton that has the smallest negative impact on the environment and humans. Currently IKEA, Marks & Spencer and H&M are a few of the leaders in sustainable cotton (Sustainable Cotton Ranking, 2017). However, only around half of these companies that were assessed had any policy or plan on cotton sustainability. The Sustainable Cotton Ranking published in 2017 suggests that companies have more transparency on their cotton use and are also more aware of where their cotton is coming from. There should be a level of traceability to the cotton a company is using in order to determine if that cotton is sustainable.

“12–15% of cotton is grown sustainably, yet only around a fifth of this is actively sourced by companies as sustainable.”

-Sustainable Cotton Ranking

However, as discussed before, alternatives to cotton are crucial in ending the threat of cotton. Another alternative to solving the problem of chemicals and pesticides in cotton production is not a fabric but an idea. If Americans didn’t buy into fast fashion, we wouldn’t be using nearly as much cotton. There needs to be an increased awareness of this issue. When discussing this topic with several people, I got the same reaction every time, “I had no idea cotton was such a problem!” Unfortunately, this is the problem, although there is an easy solution to this issue. As a society and throughout the world we need to bring awareness to how greatly we are misusing cotton. We probably have an encounter with cotton multiple times every day. It is important to remember that cotton itself is not all bad but the way in which we are using cotton is harmful. It will definitely take us changing our habits and using thrift stores, it will involve us questioning our materialism, but it will change the

References

Aktar, M. W., Sengupta, D., & Chowdhury, A. (2009). Impact of pesticides use in agriculture: their benefits and hazards. Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 2(1), 1–12. http://doi.org/10.2478/v10102-009-0001-7

Chapagain, A. K., Hoekstra, A. Y., Savenije, H. H. G., & Gautam, R. (2006). The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries. Ecological Economics, 60(1), 186–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.11.027

Chhabra, E. (2016). The Fabric of Our Lives or the Planet’s Latest Threat? Fashion Startups Look Into Cotton Alternatives. Vogue

Chouinard , Y., Brown, M., (1997), Going Organic: Converting Patagonia’s Cotton Product Line, Journal of Industrial Ecology — Wiley Online Library. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2018, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1162/jiec.1997.1.1.117

EJF (2007) The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network UK, London, UK. ISBN №1–904523–10–2

HAILES, J. (2019). NEW GREEN CONSUMER GUIDE. P207–208 S.l.: SIMON & SCHUSTER.

Hinson AV, Schlünssen V, Agodokpessi G, et al. (2014). The prevalence of byssinosis among cotton workers in the north of Benin. Int J Occup Environ Med 2014;5:-200

McKinsey&Company, (2017), The State of Fashion. Business of Fashion.

Morgan, A., Ross, M., Siegle, L., McCartney, S., Firth, L., Shiva, V., Blickenstaff, D., (2015). Life Is My Movie Entertainment (Firm). The true cost.

Owens, K., Feldman, J., Kepner, John., (2018). Wide Range of Diseases Linked to Pesticides. Organic Consumers Association.

Roozt. (2017). The Cotton of the Future. Clothing companies are on the hunt for an Eco-Friendly Cotton Substitute.

Sustainable Cotton Ranking (2017). Assessing Company Performance. Pesticide Action Network UK, Solidaridad, World Wildlife Fund.