Many people consider cotton to be one of the purest fibres on earth. In fact, traditional cotton cultivation inflicts a heavy toll on the environment.

There are now some 50 countries commercially farming cotton organically.

Organic farming means the elimination of the use of synthetic fertilisers, (replacing with animal manures for example) chemical pesticides and herbicides from every step of the farming process. Farmers replace these methods with those approved by organic certifying bodies such as TDA (Texas Department of Agriculture) and SKAL (Holland) & AGRECO (Germany) which minimise the impact on the soil and water supplies (organic cotton needing 50% less water than traditional).
In the ordinary traditional methods, to bring the plant to harvest it can be sprayed up to 30 times a season depending on farm location and insect problems - with pesticides so poisonous they can gradually render the fields barren.

Maud n Lil Certification & Fairtrade Information

To find out more about organic cotton farming and other product websites use the links below:

Information:
www.simplelife.com
www.ota.com

Information and products:
www.patagonia.com
www.ecomall.com
www.gaiaorganiccotton.com.au
www.ecobaby.com
www.naturebaby.co.nz
www.theorganichouse.com.au
www.ecolinen.com
www.theorganictradingco.com.au
www.biome.com.au
www.ecoshop.com.au
www.healthyhabitat.com.au
www.natureschild.com.au
www.organicsaustraliaonline.com.au
www.organicfood.com.au