Due to the worldwide demand for cheap cotton, conventional growing methods have employed a huge amount of pesticides as crops are often grown on poorly managed soils, which would be almost sterile without the use of synthetic fertilizers.
These toxic chemicals not only kill pests and weeds but just about everything else in their path. They contaminate the soil and poison water supplies and can kill people. The most horrific example of this environmental damage can be seen in the area around the Aral Sea, nr Uzbekistan, one of the largest producers of cheap cotton in the world. What was the fourth largest inland sea is now mostly desert. All due to intensive farming of cotton - grown where it would not grow naturally.
Other impacts include poisoning (sometimes fatal) of farmers along with secondary effects, such as birth defects and infertility.
Poor farmers can find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle, unable to stop using pesticides in order to satisfy the demand for cheap cotton. In some areas, the cost of chemicals is now reaching 60% of a farmers production costs. Training, with these chemicals, is nearly always unavailable and the necessary protective equipment is almost never used because of its lack of availability and cost and in any case, it’s inappropriate for use in tropical climates.
However, cotton can be grown following the strict principles of organic agriculture. Organic agriculture uses no synthetic chemical pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, and no Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Organic fertilizers (such as manure) and plant-based pest management products (such as neem or garlic extract) are used. However, organic agriculture is not only a mere substitution of synthetic inputs with natural inputs. The major principle is to restore a natural balance within farms, with healthy and well-structured soils, rich in organic matter. In such an environment, the pests (any living things which damage the crop) are not systematically destroyed by poisons, but are kept under control by their natural predators. Biodiversity (the diverse range of living species: plants, animals, micro-organisms) and agro-diversity (the diverse range of crops planted by the farmer, as well as livestock) are integral parts of an organic farm.
The organic cotton fibre that is harvested is similar to most conventional cotton fibres, except that it is guaranteed non-GM and is not contaminated with pesticides. The main difference is that the ecosystem where it has been produced has not been damaged and chemicals have not poisoned the farmer and his or her family.
Fully organic cotton fibre is certified as an organic agricultural product, along with other crops on the farm, by a private certification body, such as SKAL now known as Control Union Group which guarantees that the rigorous organic standards have been strictly followed.
The Bristol based Soil Association, for example, is one among over 100 such certification agencies worldwide, which are accredited and audited by various bodies such as the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movement (IFOAM). Now being brought together under a single Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
Therefore, the certification of cotton fibre as an organic agricultural product is extremely reliable. If the label of your T-shirt claims that it has been made with organic cotton, you can be confident that the cotton fibre has really been grown organically.