Cotton production nearly made a whole sea disappear
Have you heard about the Aral Sea? Once the 4th largest lake in the world, but now virtually gone - mainly because of cotton cultivation. It has been called one of the planet's worst environmental disasters by the UN. You can see for yourself in the video below.
Deadly dust from cotton chemicals
Instead of the lake, 43 million tons of pesticide-laden dust is blown into the air every year. The Aral Sea region suffers from the highest rates of throat cancer in the world - representing 80 percent of the cases of cancer.
You consume “virtual” water through your cotton clothing
It takes 10,000 liters of water to produce 1 kilo of cotton, meaning it takes about 2,700 liters to make 1 cotton t-shirt. When you buy cotton clothing you therefore “use” water from wherever the cotton was grown and produced.
This is referred to as “virtual” water - when you use water around the world as a result of your consumption. But to be clear, the virtual water is very real:
“The water consumed to grow India’s cotton exports in 2013 would be enough to supply 85% of the country’s 1.24 billion people with 100 litres of water every day for a year. Meanwhile, more than 100 million people in India do not have access to safe water”.
- The Guardian, 20 March 2015
Go for organic cotton
Organic cotton has a 91% lower water consumption than cotton grown with heavy use of pesticides. Besides, organic cotton has:
- 62% lower energy demand
- 46% lower CO2-emissions
- 26% lower soil erosion
Where does the water go in cotton production?
The water used in cotton production is mainly used in either the agricultural stage or the production stage.
In the agricultural stage, there are three types of water uses:
- evaporation of rainwater collected for growing cotton
- withdrawal of water for irrigation (ground- or surface water)
- water pollution caused by runoff pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals.
In the industrial stage, there are two types of water uses:
- extraction of ground- or surface water
- pollution of water from industrial processes.
In total, the water footprint of cotton is divided approximately like this:
- 42% blue water (groundwater)
- 39% green water (rainwater)
- 19% Grey water (polluted water / dilution water).
Water footprint of cotton
In the majority of developed countries, most of the water footprint from our consumption of cotton is cross-border (virtual water).
For Japan, 95% of the water footprint of cotton consumption is located outside Japan with the highest use of virtual water in China, Pakistan, and India.
In Europe, about 84% of the water footprint of cotton consumption is external with impacts especially in India and Uzbekistan.
For the US, about half the water footprint from cotton is virtual water with impacts mainly in India, Pakistan, and China.
Cotton production is the cause of heavy pollution
Cotton is the crop most heavily sprayed with chemicals in the world.
Hazardous pesticides commonly used for cotton production are often found in nearby water resources. In Uzbekistan, groundwater at depths up to 150 meters is often polluted with pesticides. Around 85 percent of the population suffers from poor health as a result of unsafe drinking water.
Raining with pesticides
A study of rain water in a Brazilian cotton region found that rain water contained 19 different pesticides - 12 of which were used in cotton production.
Other social and environmental issues with cotton
- Cotton cultivation causes soil degradation and erosion as well as loss of forest area and other habitat.
- The use of child labor and slavery is common in the industry.
- Cotton production is responsible for the emission of 220 million tons of CO2 annually.
The alternative: Organic cotton
Organic, responsibly grown cotton is better for the planet in many ways. The water footprint is only 10% the footprint of “conventionally” grown cotton and no pesticides or other synthetic chemicals are used in the production. Besides CO2 emissions and soil erosion are reduced.
