Monday, May 12, 2008

Don't panic...

...it's organic!


Photo: www.twirlsandtwigs.com

Why buy organic cotton?

Consider the facts:

~Only 2.4% of the world's arable land is planted in cotton, yet cotton accounts for a quarter of the worlds pesticide market, making it the most pesticide intensive crop on the planet. Furthermore the often indiscriminate application (aerial spraying) of these pesticides destroys both harmful and beneficial insects. The displacement of beneficial insects reduces natural control measures and contributes to the need for more pesticide (often referred to as the pesticide treadmill).

~In addition to harming our lands these pesticides are harmful to our bodies. In California, five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are cancer-causing chemicals (cyanazine, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin). Each year, over 1 million Americans will learn they have some form of cancer and 10,000 people in the U.S. die each year from cancer related to pesticides*.

~Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers have been shown to routinely enter groundwater, surface water, and contaminate drinking water supply. All wildlife have been negatively impacted by the movement of these chemical pollutants through the ecosystem. For example, it is estimated that some 67 million birds are killed as a result of indirect or direct exposure to pesticides. Furthermore, many people around the world are drinking water contaminated with carcinogenic agri-chemicals (14 million people in the Unites States alone*).

These are but a few of the myriad problems surrounding today's "conventional" cotton industry.
But you do have a choice. Increasingly more manufacturers are supporting organic cotton farmers around the world and offering their goods in a more environmentally and socially responsible format.
We here at Seahuggers encourage you to support this effort by looking for the organic cotton label (or other "alternative" materials such as hemp and bamboo! More on these fibers in future posts) next time you are looking for new threads.

On that note, we are proud to offer quality organic cotton clothing from Life on a Board. Life on a Board is not only manufacturing high quality clothing and accessories from organic cotton, but strives to "manufacture" a better world through its use.

Featured product:
Life on a Board, Wave Art T ->



100% Organic Cotton
Link

Aloha.

*Source: http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/background.cfm#3

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