Organic Cotton: A Case Study

Organic Cotton: A Case Study

"By Patagonia, Inc., Spring 2005

In 1991 Patagonia had commissioned an environmental impact study on the four major fibers we use in our products. We expected the synthetic, petroleum-based materials to be the worst, but we were surprised to learn that conventionally grown 100 percent cotton, which we had always thought of as a 'natural' product, was just as bad as the rest of them.

The process of growing conventional cotton involves the heavy use of chemicals that poison the soil, air and ground water. And, since many of these chemicals were originally formulated as nerve gases for warfare, it's no surprise that where spraying occurs, health problems follow. Higher rates of birth defects and cancer in both humans and wildlife surround the cotton fields. This is an outrageous cost to pay for the battle against bugs, and it's a battle we'll never win. While the bugs quickly adapt to the chemicals, some of which cost $500 a gallon, the rest of us sustain long-term damage.

We had to do something about our use of a fabric with so dreadful an impact on the earth.

Our organic cotton program is a success because our customers are making the same choice we made – to pay more now for organics rather than pay the hidden environmental costs down the road. It’s also a success because our cotton clothing is carefully thought out, and as a consequence, it sells well. As of this year, there are more encouraging signs. Just as in the organic food industry, which is currently growing at a rate of 20 percent a year, the worldwide demand for organic cotton is booming; it has tripled since we first made the switch in 1996. The farmers, gins, spinners, weavers and cloth manufacturers who followed our lead have all created a new source of revenue for themselves. The costs of organic cotton have gone down to where it is on the average only two times more expensive than industrial grown, and more and more companies, encouraged by us, are switching over.

Switching from industrially grown and processed cotton to organically grown is a positive step forward, but doesn’t completely solve the problem. Even when cotton is grown without toxic chemicals, it still uses an inordinate amount of water, and cannot be grown year after year without permanently depleting the soil. When a cotton garment is worn out, it is usually thrown away. We have to dig deeper and try to make products that close the loop – clothing that can be recycled infinitely into similar or equal products. We have to accept the responsibility for what happens to each product when it reaches the end of its life cycle, just as a computer manufacturer should be responsible for what happens to its old model computers that end up in landfills.

Some of the fiber mills we work with, at our prodding, are actively working on using less toxic materials and processes. They willingly work with us because they believe that what we are attempting to do is going to create a more sustainable business model for them and for society. They realize, as David Brower put it, that there’s no business to be done on a dead planet."

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