Ranking just below animal farming as a water intensive industry, including all of the water needed to support the meat industry, is cotton farming. Cotton is the most water intensive crop.

 

The non-organic cotton industry does a lot of damage to the world’s water systems. According to the Pesticide Action Network, cotton farming uses 25 percent of the world’s insecticides and 10 percent of the world’s pesticides. These chemicals poison the land, are troubling for farmers, cause birth deformities and learning disabilities, poison and kill wildlife, contribute to global warming, and pollute streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, and underground water aquifers.

 

When you purchase new cotton fabric, choose organic cotton. Also, consider fabrics that are more sustainable, such as bamboo and hemp fabrics.

 

Organic Trade Association, http://www.OTA.com

Pesticide Action Network, http://www.PANNA.org