As an apparel industry consumer and avid shopper, the first thing I take notice of the garment, after fit, is the fiber content. I prefer the feel and wear of cotton to wool and tend to shy away from synthetic fiber contents even if the fit is nice. Cotton is a very popular fiber and is the most used fiber used in manufacturing apparel: if a garment is not 100% cotton, there is a very high chance that there is a blend in which cotton is used. With the mass production of garments that contain cotton, come the side effects of producing and manufacturing this fiber.
After reading The sustainability of cotton, I was informed, in-depth, on issues that I never even considered when I was out shopping for new garments with my friends. The article addresses just some of the affects that growing cotton can have on the environment but goes into a lot of detail and provides some valid information. Some of the topics include the water use, erosion and land use. One of the pressing environmental issues is our use of water and how to limit wasting this valuable resource. Water is a major factor when growing cotton and unless the cotton is organically grown and uses just rain water from the region, many farmers use excess water in order to grow the crop. Another issue addressed in the reading was land erosion and the lack of control and management farmers are required to have on preventing land erosion. Another issue I found interesting was the use of land, specifically for growing cotton. There are limitations on where the crop can be grown because of the environmental factors such as climate and soil type. In order to improve the quality of the land, many times synthetic fertilizers are used which consequently have an impact on the natural environment. These are just some of the negative consequences when growing the in-demand fiber.
On the flip side, the Cotton, Inc website offers valuable information through informative videos that led me to form the opinion that the cultivation of cotton has the potential to be sustainable. I use the term “potential” because unless all farmers step up and take the information in the videos seriously and actually implement them into their management program, and consumers agree to recycle cotton then cotton will continually have a negative effect on our environment.
I formed this opinion based on two videos I watched from Cotton, Inc’s Multimedia Center. The first video was called Recycled Denim Insulation. In Phoenix, Arizona, a company manufactures home insulation from recycled jeans. This helps address the issue of reducing pollution and along with insulating homes, denim can also help clean oil spills and feed the hungry. In the second video titled Protecting and Preserving Soil with Today’s Cotton-Growing Techniques, the issue of land use was addressed. Farmers would forgo plowing fields into “pretty lines” and plant the crop in the residue. This would help protect soil with the residue so it wouldn’t wash away as easily and reduce erosion. Also it would help soak up rain fall better and allow for more water to be absorbed by the crop. Lastly, there would be more organic matter which resulting in more carbon absorbed from the atmosphere and is trapped in the soil.
Hi, Kelli! Nice job on your post this week. What do you think some of the barriers are to engaging farmers in more sustainable practices? On the other hand, do you think these sustainable practices are accessible to all cotton farmers?
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you that cotton's sustainability lies in the farmers hand; but is there anything more we can do to push the farmers towards a more sustainable solution? In our reading the different levels of the cultivation systems (conventional, organic, and IPM). Do you think that the standards placed under each label help regulate the farmers ability to create cotton sustainably? And do you think that one cultivation system is more successful than the others?
Dr. Armstrong and Caroline, those are very thought provoking questions and I feel that there are some barriers that farmers would have to overcome in order to be more sustainable. Without the use of pesticides, it is more likely that the crop will not grow to the full potential and that the harvest won’t be as big as a result. In some cases I feel that farmers would lose money and therefore it would not be worth the time and effort on the farmer’s part to produce the crop. I also do not think that all farmers have access or the means to put the sustainable practices to use. Depending on where the farm is located, most have to rely on overwatering the crop themselves or using other means to grow cotton because they do not receive enough annual rainfall or the environmental conditions aren’t perfect for growth. I feel the standards do help somewhat to help regulate but I also feel that it is another complicated process to overcome. This is a big gamble on the farmers part whether or not to produce the crop and relying solely on the environment to produce perfect conditions. As consumers, we can help set the standard that we only purchase and support manufactures that meet the standards of organic cotton and buy from the farmers that put these practices into place.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelli for that reflection. I am glad to see you embrace the complicated and contextual nature of these issues. It's seems less about finding the perfect answer, and more about finding the right solution that is best based on what we know at the time.
ReplyDeleteKelli, this was an interesting post. I agree that cotton has the "potential" to be sustainable, but not unless farmers step up to the plate. What do you think we could do to make farmers take this information more seriously?
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