Detailed comparison of fair trade organic cotton and conventional cotton. Which one is better?

If you care about what goes into the cotton you wear, how it's grown, produced and the impact it has on the environment, people and wildlife, then you've come to the right place.

With most regular cotton products, you will not learn how it is grown and produced. You can pay a lower price for regular cotton - this is possible mainly because the price does not include tax, which you cannot see as a buyer. A tax on environmental, human and animal devastation.

On the other hand , certified organic cotton can give you an idea of ​​the criteria that organic cotton must meet throughout its cultivation and production process, from the seed to the final product.

These criteria may include environmental, social and quality requirements that must be met in order for a manufacturer to obtain certification.

The way cotton is grown is not the only question we should be asking sellers. Before cotton clothing reaches the store, it goes through a process where it is dyed and treated, one of the dirtiest and most chemically intensive steps in clothing production. Unless your organic cotton garment is certified under a program such as the currently strictest Global Organic Textile Standard , it's almost impossible to know if the processes used were organic or not.

Organic cotton without certification only guarantees cultivation without GMOs and agrochemicals. It doesn't matter what happens during processing!

Beware of materials and products that are made from organic yarns, but are subsequently processed, dyed and bleached in conventional operations using common chemicals.

The best 100% organic cotton t-shirts are manufactured according to strict standards that guarantee:

• no chemical pesticides
• no genetically modified seed
• organic cotton processing without the use of chemicals
• no chemicals in the production of the final product from organic cotton
• no child labor
• safe and fair working conditions in accordance with fair trade conditions
• sustainable agricultural practices
• no animals were harmed during production

Related : Why Wear Organic Cotton T-Shirts?

In the following table, you will see the differences between GOTS certified organic cotton and regular cotton in the entire process from growing, to harvesting, to production.

	Certified organic cotton	Regular cotton
Seed preparation	natural, chemically untreated without the use of GMO (genetically modified) seeds	pre-treated with agrochemicals - typically fungicides and insecticides the use of GMO seeds
Soil preparation	the soil is healthy due to crop rotation use of natural fertilizers the soil has the ability to retain moisture due to the high proportion of organic matter	fertilization with artificial fertilizers soil erosion due to massive chemical spraying and monoculture agriculture high irrigation requirements; cotton grows in the cotton belt, where there is not enough rainfall in a large part of the territory, therefore there is unnecessary depletion and pollution of water
Care during cultivation	healthy soil creates a balance between pests and their natural predators attracting natural predators (birds, insects) using plant traps and scavengers using natural insecticides from local raw materials manual labor (weaving, hoeing)	massive use of chemical pesticides and insecticides nine of the most commonly used pesticides are proven toxins and carcinogens conventional cotton is the most pesticide-treated agricultural crop ever: although it covers 2.5% of the world's arable land, it consumes around 25% of global pesticide production! around 4 million people working in the cotton industry are poisoned by pesticides every year
Harvesting	natural defoliation using sub-freezing temperatures or irrigation	spraying with highly toxic chemical defoliants just before harvest if defoliants are applied by aerial spraying, it also affects the surroundings of cotton fields, including settlements
Production	natural oils are used in the surface treatment of the fiber dyeing with natural vegetable, mineral or environmentally friendly dyes without the content of heavy metals and azo dyes	petroleum oils and toxic waxes are used in the fiber surface treatment dyes contain heavy metals, sulphur, benzene or organochlorides
Whitening	safe bleaching with peroxide	it is bleached with poisonous chlorine - when it is used, toxic by-products are created that are released into the environment
Final adjustments	gentle cleaning in a warm solution with soda with a pH of 7.5-8	hot bath, application of dozens of chemicals (eg: to facilitate ironing, flame retardant, antistatic, reducing sweat and odor absorption, fungicidal, anti-coagulant, reducing creasing)
Coloring	environmentally friendly or natural dyes without metal and sulfur content	dyes containing heavy metals and sulphur
Imprint	water-based inks or dyes without heavy metals	commonly petroleum-based dyes containing heavy metals
Fair Trade criteria	social criteria are in place to ensure a safe, healthy, non-violent and non-discriminatory environment guaranteed at least minimum wages	no social screening the use of child and forced labor often dangerous work environment
Price	initial costs higher prices commensurate with costs long-term positive benefits - no burden on the environment, saving lives of people working in the cotton industry and relief from chemical burden for end users	initial costs low low prices (they do not include the costs of liquidation of ecological damage and harm to the health and lives of people in developing countries, where most textile production is located today) the price of clothes does not include tax for damage to the environment and human lives. The actual price is thus much higher than the one shown on the tag

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