The environmental impact of cotton is a complex issue.
With over sixty percent of clothing being made from cotton and consumers buying new clothes with every new season and every latest style, it is an issue that must be considered to minimize the overall ecological impact of the fashion industry. The issue of cotton is especially relevant to the western world as United States and European Union populations “consume 45 per cent of the world’s cotton product, despite being only 13 per cent of world population” (Eco-chic: The Fashion Paradox
The ubiquity of ‘jeans and a t-shirt’ in western culture contributes to the “high cotton use” (Eco-chic
Conventionally grown cotton comes with a host of problems which affect air, ground and water systems but organically grown cotton is not a perfect solution either.
While organic cotton has made definite improvements to minimize the impact of cotton production, cotton, organic or not, is not the most environmentally sound choice for over sixty percent of our clothing.
