Most clothing that the majority of people own today is made from cotton. This soft, flexible material represents around 50% of the world’s textile production. Many people do not realize the environmental effects cotton has on our planet. Unless organic, most cotton is treated with synthetic chemicals. Cotton production accounts for about 25% of the world’s insecticides, and 10% of the world’s pesticides. About 8,000 chemicals are used in the processing of cotton. These chemicals are known to pollute our air and water, as well as our soil. Since the industrial revolution, cotton has been processed in factories, which leads to large emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Using the calculator on the eco challenge app, I was able to estimate that the amount of CO2 that was released during the production of my clothing could easily reach over 500,000 grams.

For this challenge, I had to purchase only organic or recycled cotton products. Again, since whole foods is the mecca of all things organic and sustainable, I went there to see what selection of organic cotton products they had for sale. I was completely shocked. The prices were ridiculously out of our decided budget! The only item that was in our budget range (20$ per challenge requiring materials) was a pair of socks.

14 dollars for one pair of socks.

     Everything seemed outrageously overpriced and I couldn’t understand why. One thin, zip up hoodie that looked like it could go for around 20 dollars at Old Navy was priced at 50 dollars. There was nothing particularly special about any of these items except for the fact that they were made from organic cotton.

So, I decided to head to the mecca of all things cheap- Amazon. Luckily I was there able to find a 100% organic cotton mens t shirt for about 5 dollars.

Besides this one lucky find, it seemed extremely hard to find any selection of organic cotton clothing that was affordable. I questioned this and researched further to find out why organic cotton is so expensive.

Firstly, organic cotton is more expensive because just like anything else that is labelled “organic,” the process of growing the plant itself is much more costly. This is due to the fact that conventional chemical methods are not used as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Although those methods are generally unsafe to ourselves and the environment, conventional methods are used often since it is cheaper than using alternative growing techniques. There are also a variety of chemicals that are conventionally used during the harvesting process which are not used in the organic method of harvesting. Additionally, organic fabrics are more expensive to manufacture due to the fact that facilities that create fabric are often shared with organic cotton fabric producers and non-organic producers. This means that the organic producers must pay for the facility to clean the equipment from the left over residue of the non organic cotton. This also applies to the shared equipment in the manufacturing process. Finally, one of the major reason organic clothing is more expensive to produce is the fact that cheap labor or sweatshops are not utilized (http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2006/12/the_high_cost_o.html).

I realized while calculating the carbon footprint of the production of my wardrobe that (as I realize whenever I sort through my closet) I have a LOT of clothes. I think many people have this same issue where they have so many items of clothing however only really wear the same few outfits on a regular basis. I think that if more people switched to a more minimalist philosophy when it comes to clothing, organic cotton clothing might be something that more people consider. I think that instead of purchasing many shirts for very cheap, it would be wise to purchase only a few shirts that will be durable enough to last awhile. If this were the case, people may consider spending more money on organic clothing, but buying fewer clothes. I do not think that in our near future the price of organic cotton clothing will neccesarily go down, however, I think people must seriously consider what it takes to produce the clothing that they were.

I honestly think that this challenge has shifted my perspective on clothing. I, like many others, never really considered what went into producing the shirt I am wearing, who made it, and what the cost of it was. We often take for granted the things that are abundantly in front of us without second thought. I think that as consumers it is our responsibility to be aware of the items that we are purchasing and the effects it has on our environment.