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What is conventional cotton? What is conventional cotton?
Conventional cotton is often promoted as a "natural" product; however, it is one of the most heavily sprayed crops, utilizing more than 25% of all the insecticides in the world--yet it is farmed on only 3% of the world's farmland(1). In the USA alone, an estimated 800 million pounds of pesticides are used on cotton each year. In addition, conventional cotton textile manufacturing involves bleaches,
formaldehyde, and other chemical finishes, as well as other chemical processes. Almost 1/3 pound of synthetic chemicals is utilized for each pound of conventional cotton.
Traces of these chemicals remain in the finished product, even after repeat washings. The chemicals used to grow conventional cotton may have serious adverse effects on human health and the environment.
(1)
Organic Consumers Association "Fact Sheet on U.S. Cotton Subsidies and Cotton Production"Return to Glossary 
