A little while ago I talked to the head of a well-known snowboard brand who is very much in favor of sustainability and tries to push this topic within the company. Against quite a bit of resistance he manages to overcome some internal obstacles to launch multiple products containing organic cotton. At one of the first press conferences announcing this new move he got some very critical feedback from a, let’s call him “green” journalist that said: “Well, congratulations, you have now moved to a type of garment that uses up even more water than with the previously used classical cotton.”
Since that conversation I was interested to find out if that statement was really true and if organic cotton is not such a good idea afterall. So let’s get to the bottom of the matter. A couple of facts {1} about classical cotton production and the fashion industry first:
- The fashion industry has a huge, tangible impact on the world’s water supply.
- Growing cotton accounts for 2.6% of the world’s yearly water usage.
- One t-shirt made from conventional cotton represents 2700 liters of water, and a third of a pound of chemicals, which often contaminate water supplies.
But what is organic cotton exactly and why does it use more water per pound of cotton?
Definition: Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton, from non genetically modified plants, that is certified to be grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides.{2}
Water Use {3}
Conventional cotton: Water use per pound of cotton: 0.002 AF
Organic cotton: Water use per pound of cotton: 0.0024 AF
So organic cotton doesn’t use pesticides, but it uses more water. Is this really true? There is evidence that once fields are transitioned to organic, the need for water is lessened. And here is why – there is another advantage {4} regarding organic cotton and that is:
- Organic cotton is a rotation crop. When crops are rotated the soil maintains its nutrients and is better able to hold water in. Regular cotton is usually the sole crop planted. Cotton depletes the soil, and leaves the soil incapable of holding water.
- Most organic cotton is rain-fed and not irrigated.
Crop rotation is also an effective measure to break many insect pests and plant disease cycles. Another plus is that organic cotton farms keep lots of people employed fairly.
Conclusion
The water use of organic cotton compared to conventional cotton is indeed a slightly higher (0.0004 AF). But after 1 or 2 rotation cycles the soil quality rises and allows for the same or even less water usage. As organic cotton can be rain-fed in a lot of regions in the world energy use in the production process is also reduced. Other advantages like the use of biological systems to keep the balance, instead of using synthetic agricultural chemicals are obvious.
So as long as you can make sure that your certifier is staying true to the cause – organic cotton is definitely the better choice.
7 comments
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January 28, 2010 at 6:28 pm
lawless
Interesting facts. Like you’ve found here, sometimes it’s not so black and white when using more sustainable products. More water usage for a trade-off in better soil quality. Also to be considered is the chemical runoff from the traditional cotton and it’s affect on the surrounding water quality.
In the end the higher water usage seems to outweigh the other negative effects of traditional cotton.
August 12, 2014 at 1:59 am
7 Reasons Why Organic Cotton is Better for You and the Earth | MODABLOGI
[…] Not only does organic cotton pollute our waterways 98% less than conventional cotton, organic cotton also uses less water period. This is because organic cotton is a rotation crop meaning in order to protect the soil (see above) farmers rotate organic cotton rather than plant it year after year. Rotational crops help the soil maintain its nutrients which allows the soil to better absorb and hold water. After 2 crop rotations, organic cotton will need less water than conventional cotton. […]
December 2, 2017 at 1:19 pm
Organic cotton… what’s up with that? - Go Frank
[…] same without contradicting information. Other sources tell us that organic cotton actually needs less water than conventional cotton. Because of crop rotation, the soil maintains its nutrients and is […]
June 14, 2018 at 12:20 am
The Sauteed Spinach Blog
These two statements are contradictory for a reason- one of them is incorrect.
“The fashion industry has a huge, tangible impact on the world’s water supply.” CORRECT
“Growing cotton accounts for 2.6% of the world’s yearly water usage” INCORRECT (OR VERY MISLEADING)
The fashion industry accounts for 70% of the world’s water usage. To clarify, 70% of the water that humans permanently use up, is used up by the apparel industry. That’s 3X more water than we use for growing food, in and 7X times the water we use up for energy.
At 1320 gallons per pound (650-700 for one T shirt) cotton is the worst offender. And that doesn’t include the water used in washing.
If cotton only represented 2.6% of water usage, that would actually be wonderful. After all, clothing is a basic need (along with food, shelter, transportation, etc.)
Unfortunately, that 2.6% figure is very wrong. I’d like to know the source of it.
I suspect It’s either a made up number or a deliberate distortion resulting from an incorrect comparison. E.g. if you divide water used up by total water activity (which includes both water that is used, processed, and reused and water that is used up) you could conceivably get a very small percentage like 2.6)
June 17, 2018 at 6:35 pm
Andy Juegelt
Dear User, thanks a lot for your interest in this site and your insightful and important comment. The blog ist more than 8 years old and I have not had the time to post anything for a long while. Your line of argumentation might be correct – it certainly depends on the entire life cycle along the value chain. Unfortunately I can’t access my source anymore – neither have you backed up your 70% scientifically with several sources nor detailed which part of the value chain you mean. Saying that neither have I – you are correct. What I definitely didn’t do was to make it up without a source nor to deliberately distort it for any reason. This was a sustainability blog – which includes negative external effects of water usage within the fashion industry – but in this case I wanted to say that producing ORGANIC cotton is NOT using up MORE water than cotton with the old production process. So, sorry, if the post was misleading. I would definitely appreciate it to learn more – but then we would all want to see your sources as well. Thanks and Regards AJ
June 17, 2018 at 7:03 pm
Andy Juegelt
And one more: your 70% figure is COMPLETE BULLSHIT. It’s the amount of water usage from agriculture in general. I started digging and unfortunately the exact percentage for water use is not easy to be found. And it’s hard to compare to water usage to produce food. Anyways – the article was never claiming that the fashion industry is not using x amount of water – it was saying that ORGANIC COTTON IS NOT USING A LOT MORE WATER THAN NORMAL COTTON. That’s it that’s all. Show me your sources, please, before bashing something I wrote 8 years ago. Thanks a lot.
November 16, 2018 at 11:17 pm
Towels’ Environmental Impact Lessening Thanks to Supplier Innovation | Green Lodging News
[…] replenish and maintain soil fertility and build biologically diverse agriculture. Organic cotton uses far less water and causes less soil erosion. The main benefit of organic materials, however, is that the crops aren’t treated with […]