COTTON USA IS SOFT, SENSUAL AND NATURAL

ENVIRONMENTAL Q & A'S

Cotton is energy positive

The cumulative effect of improved technologies in cotton production has been to significantly decrease the energy needed to produce a bale of cotton. The energy contained in cottonseed is greater than all of the energy that it takes to produce a crop of cotton. In theory, cotton can be grown perpetually without any energy inputs.

Advanced technologies to reduce pesticides

Cotton is produced using advanced technologies, including tractor-mounted sensors that can detect plants’ needs and apply inputs accordingly. This technology significantly reduces the amount of chemicals being used, which benefits the environment without compromising yield. This creates a more efficient and cost-effective production practice.

QUESTION: Conventionally grown cotton ranks no. 3 in crops with the heaviest pesticide use in the world?
FACT: Cotton uses less pesticide than many commodities, such as cereals, corn, rice and soybeans.

QUESTION: Conventional farming requires roughly a third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers to produce enough cotton for a single T-shirt?
FACT: About 0.07 pounds of fertilizers and pesticides are needed for a T-shirt (only 0.002 pounds of that is pesticides).

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Biotechnology: Environmentally friendly and safe

Since 1996, the global environmental impact of insecticide use in cotton has decreased almost 25% thanks to insect-resistant cotton. In the U.S., three regulatory agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration make sure transgenic cotton is safe to grow, safe for the environment and safe to eat (cottonseed and cottonseed oil).

QUESTION: Biotechnology (GMO crops) poses an environmental safety risk?
FACT: Biotechnology has had a positive impact on the environment by reducing the number of pesticide applications and increasing yields at the same time. There has never been a scientific study that showed any risk from the technologies used in cotton.

QUESTION: Cotton uses 25% of the world’s pesticides but only 3% of that crop land is used for cotton production?
FACT: Cotton production uses less than 8% of the world’s pesticides while meeting almost half of the world’s textile needs. About 11% of the land in the world is used for agricultural production; of that, only 3% is used for cotton production.

QUESTION: Toxins left on cotton products could be harmful to one’s health?
FACT: In the United States, cotton is regulated as a food crop by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cotton is grown just like other major food crops, meaning that there are tight restrictions. Worldwide studies consistently show no pesticide residue on the raw fibre or the textile products made from the fibre.

Improved water management

In the U.S., only about 35% of cotton acres receive supplemental irrigation, but for those farmers who do irrigate, special tools to determine when irrigation is needed and advanced methods of water application are utilized. This has greatly reduced the amount of irrigation water used in cotton production.

QUESTION: Cotton is a water-intensive crop?
FACT: Cotton’s global water footprint is about 2.6% of the world’s water use, lower than many other commodities (e.g., soybeans 4%, maize 9%, wheat 12%, rice 21%). And it keeps getting better: Compared with the 1980s, growing a pound of cotton today takes approximately half as much irrigation water.

QUESTION: Cotton takes 29,000 litres of water per kilogram to produce?
FACT: The actual value is closer to 4,000 litres per kg of fibre, most of which comes from naturally occurring rainfall. It is also important to remember that the water used to create the cotton fibre also creates cottonseed, a valuable dairy feed and oil resource.

Reduced tillage benefits

Conservation tillage is allowing farmers to reduce soil erosion and improve soil health by increasing soil organic matter. Reducing soil erosion also improves water quality by preventing runoff of soil particles into lakes and streams.

An added benefit is increased storage of carbon, a known greenhouse gas, within the soil and a reduction in the amount released into the atmosphere.

Carbon sequestered annually in the world cotton fibre supply is the oil equivalent of taking 7.25 million passenger vehicles from the highways.

QUESTION: Cotton harms the soil?
FACT: Cotton is highly tolerant to soil and water salinity and thus can be grown with water and soil resources that would otherwise be unsuitable for food and fibre production. Like all agricultural crops, managed properly, cotton production can actually improve soil quality.