Organic Cotton - Good for the Planet!

I sell organic cotton baby clothes and organic cotton maternity and nursing clothes on Babynut because I truly believe they are good for babies and mothers. Always in my mind the health of the baby was first and foremost. And then I started researching information about organic cotton for an artcile on my web site, Why Use Organic Cotton? I realized as I wrote that article that: not only is organically grown cotton good for baby's skin and mother's skin, organically grown cotton is good for planet Earth!

90 million acres are devoted to the production of cotton worldwide, consuming 25% of all pesticides used on our planet. Genetically modified seed accounts for 50% of the cotton grown in the United States. We can only speculate about the long-term consequences of genetic engineering. Petroleum based hydrocarbons (chemical fertilizers) are intensively applied to cotton crops to speed up and enhance the plant's growth cycle and productivity. The runoff of these chemicals pollutes our watershed and food chains.

Organically grown cotton is not treated with pesticides, herbicides or petroleum based fertilizers, nor does it use genetically engineered seed. In the United States, Egypt, India and other countries, farmers are raising cotton organically, without the use of costly, often ineffective and dangerous chemicals. They are courageously developing alternative sources of the world's favorite natural fiber.

So I have come to the conclusion that whenever I can possibly afford to do so, I will buy organic cotton sheets, towels, clothes, toys, etc. Because if I don't, the health of the planet is at stake.