The Outside View: Cotton Farming, Circularity and Climate Change

When we think of the faces behind our apparel and textile businesses, we usually picture the cutters, sewers and patternmakers. We don’t have to think deeper into the supply chain in order to bring our work to life. But in actuality, tireless labor and dedication of agricultural workers are at the source of most of our materials. The way we cultivate fiber matters so much more than we realize. Yet so many of us are not conscious of the impacts of our fiber choices because we are, understandably, settled into the status quo of the inner workings of this centuries-old industry. However, once we uncover the facts, it’s particularly difficult to continue business as usual with a clear conscience; doing so blatantly threatens humanity’s ability to thrive. Cotton fiber is contained in over a third of today’s textiles, but only a tiny fraction (less than 1 percent) of that is grown organically, and/or is truly sustainable to human and planetary wellness. You may wonder, “What’s wrong with conventional cotton?” Conventional cotton is mostly genetically modified, chemical-dependent, topsoil degrading and causes chemicals to run off into local freshwater supplies. Expensive GM seed requires increasing amounts of pesticides as the bollworm becomes resistant, sending

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