1. Organic vs. Non-Organic
Fabric
Can environmental and heath
problems be caused by what we
wear?
By: Rachel Summerlin

2. Different fabrics impact the
environment in different ways:
 Polyester
 Manufacturing emits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas,
310 times more potent than carbon dioxide
 Uses large amounts of water to cool which can cause
contamination of water sources
 Energy hungry process
 Non-biodegradable
 Made from petrochemicals

3. Fabrics Continued:
 Rayon (a type of silk)
-- Made from wood pulp
 Seems like a more
sustainable option
but forests are often
cleared and/or
subsistence farmers
are displaced to
make way for
pulpwood
plantations.
 Treated with
hazardous chemicals
 Hawaiian Shirts

4. Cotton:
Most pesticide intensive crop In the world
 Uses Herbicides also
 Kills and injures many people per year
 Remains in fabric after finishing
production
 Natural Selection
 Takes up large portion of agricultural land
 Which people could of used for food

5. Cotton cont.
 Development of genetically modified cotton
 Organic cotton
 It can take almost a 1/3 pound of synthetic
fertilizers to grow one pound of raw cotton in
the US
 it takes just under one pound of raw cotton
to make one t-shirt

6. Manufacturing processes:
 Poly Cottons
 Like “permanent press cotton”, “easy
care”, and “crease resistant" Cottons
 Are treated with formaldehyde
 A type of chemical that can pollute the
rivers and streams

7. Dyeing Fabrics:

 Dye can often wash out of
garments, and can end up coloring
the rivers, as treatment plants fail to
remove them from the water.
 Dye fixatives – often heavy metals –
also end up in sewers and then
rivers.

8. The Benefits of Organic :
 Reduces the overall exposure
to toxic chemicals that can end
up in the:
 ground
 air
 Water
 food supply
 Helps protect against the
health consequences from
asthma to cancer
 The U.S. and Turkey are the
worlds largest organic cotton
producers.

9. Organic Cotton
 Uses natural fertilizers, like
compost and animal
manure, that recycles the
nitrogen already in the soil
rather than adding
more, which reduces both
pollution and N2O emissions

10. What does “Organic” really mean?
Definition:
 ‘Organic’ is a labeling term that refers to agricultural products
produced in accordance with Organic Foods Production Act and
the NOP Regulations. The principal guidelines for organic
production are to use materials and practices that enhance the
ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts
of the farming system into an ecological whole.
 Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are
completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize
pollution from air, soil and water.

11. Places growing Organic cotton
today:

12. Where does our cotton come
from?

13. Health problems from pesticides:
Worldwide:
 http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=nlSQevNPBd4&feature=
relmfu
 http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=mz-
yuGFiPpg&feature=relmfu

14. Pesticides and Human Health :
 In California, five of the top nine pesticides used on
cotton are cancer-causing chemicals
 In Egypt, more than 50 percent of cotton workers in
the 1990s suffered symptoms of chronic pesticide
poisoning
 The World Health Organization estimates that at
least three million people are poisoned by
pesticides every year and 20-40,000 more are killed.

15. Health effects:
 Fetuses, (pre-birth babies), may suffer from
exposure and exhibit behavioral problems
 Lower cognitive scores, fewer nerve cells and lower birth
weight
 A lower resistance to the toxic effects of pesticides
 A greater risk (70% increase), for Parkinson's
disease, even with low levels of pesticides
 Can remain in lever and build up over time
 High exposure can be fatal

16. What we can do to help
• Choose organic clothes
 Be sure to ask companies offering organic cotton if
they have organic production standards in place to
keep all chemicals out of their clothes
 Look for other organic cotton products
 Support the greenest businesses offering
organic cotton
 Promote the use of organic pesticides
and/or the removal of them all together

17. Fair Trade
 A way to give their producers
of organic products a safer
and healthier environment to
live in.
 A clean way to create “white
gold”
 Creates a clean environment
without hazardous pesticides

18. Fair Trade continued…
 Alternative to poverty in third
world countries
 Allows farmers to
reap the benefits
of the organic
cotton with a
bigger portion of
the cost of the
product.

19. The variety in “Organic”
clothing:

21. Economic differences:
Normal: Organic:
 Amount of conventional  Yearly produced amount of
cotton produced per year: 25 organic cotton: 25,000 tons
million tons
 Takes longer to produce
 Uses lots of pesticides and because of organic licensing
herbicides in tons per year periods are limited
 Production year round based  Loss of crops to some pests
on mutations in crops  More expensive that traditional
 Less expensive to produce cotton because of
labor/transport

22. Conclusion
 Organic cotton will help our environment in the future
and even today
 Clean production of cotton makes a better living
environment for farmers and communities.
 Health bonuses
 Economical increase through fair trade
 Fewer pesticides in the run off and fields

23. Expected Learning Outcomes
 Discuss the environmental impacts of the organic
industries
 Discuss the environmental impacts of non organic
fibers In production today
 Discuss the role of Fair Trade and the impact it has on
those developing nations
 Be able to discuss the health concerns surrounding
pesticides from cotton production

24. Work Cited:
 Organic Cotton USA:
 http://www.organic-cotton.us/
 Cottonique:
 file:///Users/rachelsummerlin/Desktop/The%20Health%20and%20Environmental%20Problems%20with%20Clothes%20Dyes%20%7C
%20Cottonique%20-%20Your%20source%20for%20Allergy-free%20.webarchive
 Green Choices:
 file:///Users/rachelsummerlin/Desktop/Green%20Choices%20-%20Environmental%20impacts%20of%20clothing.webarchive
 Global Health Center:
 http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides/effects-of-pesticides
 Organic Trade Assoication:
 http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/cotton_environment.html
 Global Healing Center:
 http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides/effects-of-pesticides
 Divine Caroline:
 http://www.divinecaroline.com/22354/82760-cotton-production-clothes-aren-t-clean#ixzz1dpCk8xjH

25. Extra Info:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHZR5SyA-
CQ&feature=relmfu