We all know that organic agriculture is the best way to go. So when it comes to cotton, we should all look for fair trade organic cotton. But at the same time, let’s not forget that however more expensive it is for us to buy organic, it is also just as more expensive to grow organic.
Which leaves us with the question, what can we do when we can’t afford to grow organic cotton?
We turn to the next best thing, Cleaner Cotton™. And just how do the two differ? Well to put in simple words, Organic Cotton does not involve the use of chemicals- no pesticides, no herbicides…everything is natural so the industry is safe for the farmers, good for the environment
Cleaner Cotton™-, well it’s still about heading towards sustainable cotton. Only it’s a notch below organic because while they primarily depend on the bio-intensive system of Integrated pest management (IPM), chemical pesticides are still used but only when and if monitoring indicates they are needed.
Now as to what exactly constitutes a need is strictly governed by established guidelines, determined by the Sustainable Cotton Project’s (SCP) Pest Control Advisers (PCAs). Treatments are applied with the aim of removing the target organisms only, so the chemicals are carefully selected and cautiously applied to minimize the impact to humans, non-targeted organisms and the environment.
Cleaner Cotton™ is the brainchild of The Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP), an organisation dedicated to making the cotton value chain as healthy and safe possible for all involved.
Located in California’s Central Valley, the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP) has been guiding stakeholders (farmers, manufacturers and consumers) of the cotton industry since 1996 to make the transition from conventional chemical dependant methods to biological ones through their philosophy of “cooperation for a change”
Joining forces with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) in 2003, the SPC was able to grow its operations to reach a wider farm and consumer audiences. Together, they educated farmers about biological farming methods and the public about the impact of supporting it.
SCP’s Cleaner Cotton™ campaign sets out to encourage a sustainable cotton value chain. The Cleaner Cotton™ Campaign relies on the 2 correlated factors of supply and demand for success.
In the supply chain, where the production occurs, SCP encourages farmers/growers to use The Biological Agricultural Systems in Cotton (BASIC) program where they are just a small step away from being organic. Educating them on the benefits and reassuring them on the success rates, the acreage of cotton fields grown on the BASIC program continues to grow.
Manufacturers are also a part of the supply chain as they are responsible to transform the raw cotton into products like our t-shirts, bed sheets etc. SCP encourages them to be a part of the Cleaner Cotton™ Campaign and to stress for the use of Cleaner Cotton™ in their products. Through education of benefits to them as well as the demand for sustainable cotton from consumers, the Cleaner Cotton™ Campaign is proving quite successful among manufacturers.
The demand chain is the consumers- which are you and me. What we choose to buy ultimately determines what is made. So SCP’s Cleaner Cotton™ Campaign is here to teach us that just because we can’t always afford to go entirely organic, it doesn’t mean we can’t care for the environment.
Even though an agricultural industry build and sustained entirely on organic methods is ideal, the costs involved makes it a slow battle to reduce the chemical pollution as retailers shun away from the higher prices.
Now placing that in the perspective of how cotton is one of the most widely cultured and chemical-intensive crops in the world, Cleaner Cotton™cultivated under the BASIC program are grown on significantly more acres than organic cotton. Therefore indirectly it is able to achieve a far greater success of reduction in chemical pollution than organic cotton.
That’s one of the alternatives to living green at an affordable price. So if cost isn’t an issue, surely we all can make that change and go green for the earth.
Do visit the SPC site. They have details about their program as well as swell educational ‘Fibre Footprint Calculator’ where you can calculate your land, water and carbon footprints when you make the choice to go for organic cotton, Cleaner Cotton™ and conventional cotton.
