Just got back from a buying trip to Chicago. Wow, there’s a lot of great little start-up companies out there, especially ones using organically grown cotton. I continue to be amazed at how fast the organic movement is growing!
I think there are still a lot of people who don’t really understand the point of organically grown cotton. Well, there’s a few different issues. The first is just about the amount of chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) used to grow regular cotton. Since cotton is not a food crop, there is not much restriction on the chemicals that are used. I have read that these are toxic chemicals and are used in huge amounts to grow cotton. Not only do these chemicals deplete the soil but they also end up in runoff that gets into our precious groundwater, as well as lakes and streams (since everything is connected). It might be easy to not give it too much thought since it’s not in our back yard, but I can assure you it’s in someones back yard. And speaking for myself, this planet of ours is feeling smaller and smaller all the time.
In my own life, I feel deeply connected to all the people that we share the earth with. When I see images of little children in third world countries playing around toxic waste areas because they are poor and have no choice, it’s painful thinking their parents probably love and care about them as much as we do our children. So, I don’t want to be a part of poisoning our earth no matter whose back yard it’s in.
Even from a selfish point of view, we are all connected and the planet is all connected. Let’s do it for ourselves. More on this topic later.
