Ethical fashion is often regarded as an issue surrounding wages and human rights abuses. However, for me, one of the biggest causes for concern is the issues around the materials these clothes are made out of. Plastic fibers now swamp our rivers, oceans and aquatic life. They also release harmful chemicals into our skins and cause irritations. Other natural materials such as cotton also present problems because of the large amount of water they need to grow and the fact that most of the cotton is GMO.
So how to solve this issue. Well, for me, one of the most important things I look for when shopping ethically is that the material is organic. Organic is one of the most important labels in the world. Organic is the new black.
Conventional cotton is grown using a large amount of chemicals. These range from pesticides to insecticides and cotton alone account for 14% of global insecticide use. These chemicals contaminate soil water air and have led to the death of untold numbers of animals and insects. The chemicals in conventional cotton also impact humans. An estimated 1 million agricultural workers are taken to hospital each year suffering from acute pesticide poisoning. Aside from this, nabouring villages and towns are also affected with large rates of caners and birth defects that are associated with large amounts of chemical use.
A long with direct deaths from the chemicals sprayed, cotton production has been linked to hundreds of thousands of farmer suicides. These farmers kill themselves due to the debt incurred through purchasing seeds and pesticides from Monsanto. They are persuaded that in order to grow more cotton they must switch to GMO seeds which are pest resistant to improve yields. Once they have done this, the plants and surrounding weeds and soil get less affected by the pesticides and insecticides resulting in an increase in the demand for more and more chemicals to be sprayed.
The cotton plants have also been modified so that they can no longer reproduce, meaning the farmers get into more debt having to repeatedly buy seeds. Monsanto repeatedly have raised their prices plunging farmers into debt. In the Punjab region of India where much of this cotton is grown, thousands of farmers kill themselves every year.
Despite the problems with conventional cotton, organic cotton mitigates all of these issues. Organic fabrics like cotton support the farmers, soils and wildlife on the organic farms in a way that other fabric production doesn't. To become certified as organic there is a number of hoops farmers and fashion brands need to jump through which are quite stringent - so you know with organic material that you really are getting something environmentally conscious. Certifications like GOTS address all the issues in the conventional cotton supply chain from the poisoning of rivers and soils to the human rights issues surrounding production. The approach taken by organic cotton certification systems like GOTS is holistic in the sense that is protects the whole of the supply chain. From seed to soil to farmer to consumer, it is better all round.
Many brands now supply organic cotton including high-street fast fashion ones as the problems associated with its production come to light. Always make sure however that the cotton you are buying is certified - this will ensure brands are not just green-washing you!
As a customer organic cotton is important. Chemicals on clothing leech into our skin, and buying organic ensures that the cotton is free from heavy metals, formaldehyde, GMO, chlorine bleaching and azo dyes. Organic cotton is one of the best ways that you can ensure a product is sustainable and ethical as well as being kind to your skin.
For more information about different fabrics click here or if you are interested in ethical fashion and organic cotton see some of my favorite picks below!
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