5 Reasons to Wear Organic Cotton

Sustainable brands are abuzz when it comes to organic cotton (ZAVI included). But why is this variety of cotton such a big deal? If you’ve ever found yourself wondering the same, then here are five reasons why. 

• Organic cotton is 100% biodegradable,  its production process uses less water & energy compared to conventional cotton making it a better alternative when it comes to environmental impact
• There are specific sustainable certifications dedicated to verifying the status of the organic content in organically grown cotton
• When organic cotton is endorsed by third-party certifications like GOTS, you can be assured that workers involved were provided safe working conditions and fair living wages
• Organic cotton provides superior softness, the kind you get after years of washing
• ZAVI uses GOTS and OCS certified organic cotton in their menswear and women's range of sustainable clothing

Conventional cotton’s global reach is wide, but its production methods are environmentally unsustainable. And this is one of the key factors where organic cotton fares a lot better than its conventional alternative. Organic cotton farming doesn’t rely on toxic pesticides in order to grow. In fact, it doesn’t even damage the soil, has less of an impact on the air and uses 88% less water and 62% less energy. Whereas conventional cotton uses about 16% of the world’s insecticides and 7% of pesticides — almost half of which have been identified as highly hazardous by the World Health Organisation.  

Free of toxic chemicals, uses 88% less water & 62% less energy compared to conventional cotton.

Organic cotton can be trusted especially when it's been verified by the Global Organic Textile Standard certification. GOTS verifies the organic status of textiles across the supply chain; right from raw materials to processing, manufacturing, packaging, labelling and distribution. To obtain their authentication, the products must contain the minimum of 70% natural organic fibres.

With GOTS certification you can be confident that your organic cotton clothes meet the highest ecological and social standards.

When you buy 100% certified organic cotton clothing, you can rest assured knowing that the factories that produce organic cotton are required by the GOTS certification to provide safe working conditions and fair living wages for everyone involved, including the cotton farmers. Additionally, the people involved in production are not exposed to toxic chemicals in the field or through their food and water supply. 

Not just sustainable for the environment but also sustainable for those working behind the scenes. 

In addition to not being processed with harmful chemicals, organic cotton is also completely handpicked, which preserves the length of their fibres that in turn render an unparalleled softness. Getting handpicked ensures these fibres don’t get weakened or broken, resulting in softer cotton clothing. Whereas conventional cotton requires heavy chemical processing in order to become soft. 

In the right compost, 100% organic cotton will biodegrade within anywhere between a week to 5 months. And it will decompose in a clean manner without leaving any harmful toxins behind unlike its conventional predecessor. Since organic cotton is untreated with chemicals, when it breaks down, it will cause less harm to the earth.

To know more about how organic cotton and other materials biodegrade, take a look at our informative piece on: Biodegradable Fabrics: Can We Really Compost Our Clothes?

And be sure to choose organic cotton clothing for women and organic cotton clothing for men. 

Published by: Vibhuti Vazirani/ 2021-02-19