Growing cotton is a dirty business,but it’s not the only option in a more eco-conscious marketCotton seems spotless. It grows as a fluffy white plant and is processed into towels and flannels – clean stuff. Upsettingly, it has a lengthy ecological rap sheet that means it is the filthiest of all fibres. While it covers just 2.5% of the planet’s total agricultural area, and the cotton crop uses 7% of all pesticides and 16% of all insecticides. There are entire chemical companies making neurotoxic formulas just to support this crop. And it takes nearly 4000 litres of water to obtain a single pair of jeans.
It’s nearly enough to obtain us yearn for the entirely polyester wardrobes of the 1970s or even drive us to hemp – a fibre often touted as the solution,though in reality it is blended with cotton.
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Source: theguardian.com