The Importance of Slow Fashion in Challenging GMO technology

For the past few years I have been involved in the slow fashion movement, writing my little blog in my own little space on the internet. I like to think in one small way I have helped push this conversation forward into the mainstream where we are now seeing large brands shifting the conversations (and collections) to a new more sustainable direction. 

This is, of course, green-washing , however I do believe that regardless of large brands intentions companies like H&M having a conscious collection engages more people in the conversation. This in turn has given the movement and the conversations on workers rights,  polluting the environment and what materials we use, more clout.

There is one area that I do feel the slow fashion movement do not highlight or discuss enough and that is the relation and importance of this conversation in challenging Bill Gates, Bayer and the GMO question. Most cotton that is used in our clothing, bed sheets, towels etc. is GMO cotton. 

GMO cotton, although not being used for human consumption still has a massive impact on the environment and implications on biodiversity. 

The slow and sustainable fashion movement has ignored this area for a long time and many 'ethical' brands will still use none organic cotton. Although it may be sewn by people paid slightly more, the issues surrounding GMO cotton are ever present. 

Using GMO cotton supports big pharma and big tech and ultimately leads to a poor deal for farmers and for the environment. Buying none organic cotton supports this system of oppression, and, ultimately, corporate imperialism and the commodification of life. 

Non-organic cotton is one of the most genetically pesticide and chemically contaminated crops in the world with over 90% of the cotton in the USA being genetically engineered and 70 million hectares globally. This accounts for 2.4% of all arable land but cotton production accounts for 25% of global insecticide sales.

The discussions we have about the sustainability and ethical nature of creating clothing from cotton does not, in my opinion, focus on this enough.  GMO cotton is a disaster for the environment as the chemically intensive nature of its farming destroys biodiversity both above and below the soil. The large scale spraying of roundup and other chemicals not only kills soil fertility but stops the soil being able to store rainwater and organic carbon making it unable to sequester as much carbon from the atmosphere.

Many farmers argue that using GMO cotton and other seeds help improve their yields but this is only in the short term and the benefits are actually very debatable. 

“Many farmers agreed that the highest yields of GM cotton are due to better seed quality and favorable weather conditions. Improved training of farming technicians, government campaigns for crop health and pest eradication initiatives have undoubtedly also contributed.”

Most of the worlds GMO cotton goes into clothing apart from a small amount that is fed to livestock. Slow fashion is therefore central to the GMO debate and a key part of tackling the problem of the imperial corporate agricultural system. This is something the sustainable fashion movement and the people in it need to raise awareness of and talk about more, as there is still little acknowledgement of the GMO issue being part of the sustainable fashion debate.