Is cotton killing our planet?

[Jackie361]

Did you know it takes 20,000 litres of water to make a single T shirt and a pair of jeans?

Cotton is the most widespread profitable non-food crop in the world. Its production provides income for more than 250 million people worldwide and employs almost 7% of all labor in developing countries. Approximately half of all textiles are made of cotton.

The global reach of cotton is wide, but current cotton production methods are environmentally unsustainable—ultimately undermining the industry’s ability to maintain future production.

Is there an environmentally friendly alternative?

[Alison66]

Cotton is at least a fabric that will biodegrade at the end of its life, however, you are right it is one of the most environmentally demanding crops. It is also known to use high levels of pesticides and chemicals known to be toxic to humans and wildlife, all of which seep into the water supplies.

You can buy organic Cotton, with will use less chemicals, but unlikely to use less water and hemp is also an alternative to cotton.

[Grace]

The cotton industry really is a double edged sword, it is damaging to our planet in its evolution, but not so in its demise, where as more man made fabrics, may be less harmful to produce, but due to their nature, they may take a lifetime to disintegrate. Which is the better option?

[Grace]

In order to answer your question, hemp is the most eco-friendly option.

[Mary03]

Hemp appears to be slightly easier on the environment than cotton, considering it’s superior on water and land requirements, and only slightly worse for energy use. But is more expensive to produce as it is classed as Cannabis sativa L so tax is applied. Environmentally it uses less water but uses more energy so like everything there are pros and cons

[Morris1954]

Hemp is the most eco-friendly material, there are companies online that deal solely with hemp, in all forms, baskets, clothes, food etc

[Ruthie]

Hemp uses more energy than cotton so if you were to look at it environmentally it isn’t that much better