Searching for Sustainability

Do you know someone who only purchases cotton apparel? Whenever I go shopping with one of my friends, she refuses to purchase anything that is not at least 95% cotton. We all have preferences to what we like in our apparel, but do we really think about where that product comes from? Though there are many in the textile production business trying to make textiles more sustainable, it does not make up for the fact that the actual growing of the textile is unsustainable. To make one kilogram of cotton lint, 10,000 to 17,000 liters of water are used.

After reading “The Sustainability of Cotton,” I have come to the conclusion that there is a lot of room for improvement in the cotton industry. There are many reasons why the cultivation of cotton is not sustainable including water use, pesticide use, human health and soil erosion. The factor that stood out to me the most is water use because we are constantly hearing about the state of fresh water. When producing a cotton crop, a process called irrigation is used to make sure the crop has enough water to grow and fully develop.  This process does not always involve getting water directly to the plant. According to the article, 60% of all water used in the irrigation process never reaches the plant. This is an extreme waste of water. The article also states that cotton cultivation counts for 1 to 6 percent of the world’s total freshwater withdrawal. Another issue is the use of pesticides because they not only harm the environment; they also harm the workers and surrounding community. The Sustainability article states that 40,000 lives are lost each year due to pesticide application. The workers that apply the pesticides should always wear masks, but they do not always do so. Pesticides can also lead to water pollution and deaths of birds and other species.

Cotton Incorporated is currently working on ways to make cotton cultivation more sustainable. Many people associate organic farming with sustainability, but organic farming does not address the water use issue. While it does not address water, it does address the use of pesticides by not using them. According to the “Cotton and Water: White, Blue and Green” video, there are new irrigation techniques that reduce the amount of water used in the cultivation process. One technique is the application of water directly to the soil. Farmers are also beginning to monitor the moisture of their crops through the use of technologies such as Smart Crop. This allows the farmer to turn off their irrigation system so that water can be saved. The “Protecting and Preserving Soil with Today’s Cotton Growing Technique” video mentions that farmers are using a method called conservation tillage. This method reduces soil erosion and allows the soil to soak rainfall better. Conservation tillage involves not plowing the field after cultivation; the new crop is planted directly in the residue of the old crop. While cotton cultivation is currently unsustainable, it can become sustainable if farmers begin to use the processes mentioned in the Cotton Inc. videos.