The latest developments from better thinking’s perfect t-shirt project:

Sunday and Monday saw the Organic and Natural Products Europe show arriving at the Great Hall in Kensington Olympia. After happily sampling numerous organic chocolate truffles, I settled down to take part in a seminar hosted by the Soil Association, entitled ‘Is Organic Cotton Sustainable?’

We began by watching ‘Moral Fibre’, a short video on the effects of cotton pesticides. Many people in the room were quite taken aback when it stated that 20,000 farmers die every year from spraying pesticides. Clearly not something that anyone involved in non-organic cotton wants to draw people’s attention to, it’s not on many people’s radar at the moment. The problems come from the farmers ingesting the highly toxic pesticides as they spray them on their crops, which can lead to respiratory problems, weeping rashes, dizziness, and in the worst occurrences, death. Many of the chemicals the farmers use are banned in Europe and North America, even though they are produced and sold by these continents. Financial poverty and lack of information exacerbates the problems: many farmers are not aware of the health hazards or need to wear protective equipment, and if they are, they may not be able to afford it.

After the presentation, there was a a question and answer session with Lee Holdstock, textile specialist from the Soil Association, Peter Melchett, Policy Director at the Soil Association, and Jan Schrijver, who’s been involved in organics since 1973. Damien Sanfilippo from Pesticide Action Network, a previous aide to the perfect t-shirt project, was also in attendance. As expected, questions about yield came up: can organic cotton provide the same returns as chemically-protected cotton? The answer is, over time, yes it can. Pesticides degrade the quality of the soil, whereas organic farming maintains soil fertility, meaning in the long run productivity is higher. Benefits also present themselves to farmers in the forms of less expenditure for expensive pesticides, better health and higher income for their produce.

But the conclusion to this question’s answer reminded us of an important point that’s not often brought into the equation: if one farmer dies from using the chemicals, then it’s one too many. Organic cotton farming may not be the answer to all of our textile needs, but conventional cotton farming certainly isn’t. Due to the complexity of supply chains and a wide range of commercial issues, it is still cheaper in the short-term to make garments from cotton grown with pesticides, but when compared to the cost to human life, the benefits become highly questionable. So if you have the option of organic cotton next time you’re out clothes shopping, take it. Feel free to get in touch with your favourite clothing manufacturers and retailers to tell them about the issues, too. By spreading awareness, we can tackle the problem.

Visit the project’s dedicated site here