About Cotton Sustainability

• Overview
• Responsible Economic Development
• U.S. Cotton
• Cotton vs. Other Fibers
• Manufacturing
• Recycling
• Ask the Sustainability Desk

Ask the Sustainability Desk

Q: How has technology affected cotton’s sustainability efforts?

A: Modern technology has resulted in tremendous gains in production efficiency.  It has allowed almost two times more cotton to be produced today worldwide than in the 1960s, on essentially the same amount of land.  Find out more about how technology will continue to affect cotton in the future here.

Q: Is it true that cotton uses a large amount of water compared with other crops?

A: No.  Cotton’s overall water use is not that different than other major crops.  In fact, Cotton is very tolerant of drought conditions, and, in many environments, cotton has less environmental impact on water resources relative to other crops.  Find out more about cotton and water here.

Q:  What is organic cotton?

A: Organic cotton is cotton produced within a set of strict United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards, enforced by USDA-certifying agents who must annually inspect fields and the operation for adherence to National Organic Program (NOP) standards. NOP standards require a three-year conversion, or change over, of land before organic crops can be harvested, so becoming an organic cotton producer is a long-term decision.  Learn more about U.S. cotton here.

Q: I’ve heard that cotton actually uses a lot less pesticides than it did 20 or 30 years ago? If that’s true, why is that?

A: It is true.  Cotton Incorporated has helped reduce the use of all chemical inputs for cotton growth.  As a result, it now takes 1.362 oz. of fertilizer and .038 oz. of pesticide to grow enough cotton to make a single t-shirt.  Find out more about cotton’s reduced environmental impact here.

 

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