Worth of pesticides
The effects of cotton pesticides
Your t-shirt is tainted with chemicals
More chemical pesticides are used for cotton than for any other crop. Cotton accounts for 16 percent of global insecticide releases. 60 percent of the world’s cotton is used for clothing and another 35 percent for home furnishing.
It’s not cough medicine
Aldicarb is a commonly used cotton pesticide. A single drop of aldicarb absorbed through the skin can kill an adult. Cotton pesticides so toxic that they were banned under the Soviet regime are still being used in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is the world’s second largest cotton exporter.
8,000 chemicals in your clothes
Prints on clothing is typically made from PVC, phthalates and other harmful chemicals. Up to 8,000 chemicals can be used in the production and processing of textiles - for dyeing, treating, printing and finishing.
It’s in your clothes
The use of hazardous pesticides during cotton production can also be detected in various pieces of clothing made from cotton.
Other environmental effects of cotton
Besides the heavy use of pesticides, cotton production also requires massive amounts of freshwater.
Tonnes of water used in cotton production
Globally, this year
Child labor and slavery in the cotton industry
The cotton industry is also notorious for the use of sweatshops, child labor and slavery. There’s a reason cotton is called the dirtiest crop in the world and the cotton industry one of the dirtiest industries in the world.
There are many reasons to go for organic cotton!
Profits generated by slaves
US dollars worldwide, this year
