The Fabric of our Lives?
Sustainable Hydration
There are many different methods used in growing cotton. Some of these methods are more sustainable than others. Although organic farming has been often thought of as the most sustainable method, there are certain aspects that must be taken into consideration as well. According to the Sustainability of Cotton report, organic production does not necessarily consider water usage. This means that a farmer can be using organic productions methods but still use unsustainable amounts of water. If a traditional system is converted into an organic system but maintains the same unsustainable water usage then the advantages to farming organically are mostly negated.
Within the scope of organic farming, if rain-watered crops are not possible, then drip irrigation can be used to reduce water usage by 16-30% or more compared to standard irrigation methods. The problem with this system is that it can be expensive to set up, because an irrigation line must be run throughout the crop. The benefit of this system is that it delivers only the amount of water required for the plant and it does so directly to the plant’s root system.
The video clip, the flexible needs of cotton, cotton is fairly drought resistant and does not require much water. This does not exactly line up with the Sustainability of Cotton report, or any other reports that I have read regarding the cotton industry. This makes me curious where this information is coming from. Perhaps cotton requires less water than some other crops, but when considering the large scale that cotton is produced, the water consumption factor is immense.
China is the world’s largest cotton producer, with 24% of cotton being produced there. However, there is a very negligible amount of China’s cotton being produced organically. The United States, in comparison, produces 19% of the world’s cotton supply and is second in the world in organic cotton production, with 27%. Unfortunately, only 1% of the United States’ cotton production is currently organic, and of that 1%, how many of those farmers are actually using sustainable irrigation methods?
While the United States is doing significantly better than some other major cotton producers in terms of growing organically, there is still much room for improvement. In addition to the benefits in terms of water usage, organic farming can reduce toxins by using natural fertilizers and pesticides that do not contain harmful chemicals.
All in all, the Sustainability of Cotton report confirmed that there is not one singular way to successfully save the environment. There are many factors to be taken into consideration, and just because something says “organic” it does not necessarily mean that all of the processes used in its production were sustainable. It is important that we consider all the aspects of sustainability and promote the healthy use of resources. It would also be beneficial to incorporate some sort of standard in water usage and allow the consumers to become aware of what types of practices certain manufacturers are using in their cotton production so that we can make educated decisions when purchasing cotton products.
Hi, Beth! Your blog is well articulated. Your blogs continue to evolve each week, and I am happy to see your progress! You make an excellent point about water usage, organic or not. I think you are the first student to question Cotton, Inc. and their perspective. I agree that there are some holes in the story that do not seem consistent. Knowing what you know about materials alternatives, do you think there is a chance of designers simply turning to other fiber alternatives to reduce our reliance on cotton?
ReplyDeleteDr. Armstrong,
DeleteI believe that designers are already using alternative fibers such as polyester and nylon, but not necessarily due to the sustainability issues that cotton presents. I think that especially in interior design that nylon and polyester are specified due to durability factors, as I discussed in my blog last week. It would be great if we could come up with some better alternatives in synthetic production because the durability that makes them great for commercial applications also has negative implications because that means they will be hanging arou much longer as waste since they do not biodegrade. I think the best solution would be to implement some kind of cradle to cradle system were the product could be recycled again and again, making the initial enviornmental impact of production the majority of the issue. Then industries could also focus on optimizing their production methods to be as sustainable as possible.
Beth, I was also confused on how the video said it was both a thirsty and dry crop because then I don't think water would be as big of a subject if that was the case. I agree that cotton is all over the place on whether it can be sustainable or not, maybe we should start looking to an alternative such as bamboo because I have read that it is actually softer than cotton and it grows faster than cotton!
ReplyDeleteMagen,
DeleteGreat suggestion! I explored the idea of alternative natural fibers in my blog last week as well. I have felt bamboo fabric before and it is really soft! I have also heard that it grows much faster than cotton or trees (because bamboo is also used for wood/flooring), however it also depletes the soil more rapidly. I am unsure of the validity of the assumption that bamboo is actually more sustainable due to the trade-offs associated with it. A study would need to be done comparing the life cycle impacts of the negatives of cotton water usage and soil depletion versus that of bamboo. It would be interesting to see the results.
Beth, I like the perspective you took this week on cotton and organic cotton. I find it hard to believe that that 1% of organic cotton in the United States is grown sustainably because I do not think it is in high enough demand for the United States or nationwide. However, I do think that that number needs to go up in order to reduce the pesticide damages. I realized that the Cotton Inc. videos were extremely bias about natural cotton. Why do you think they said it did not require much water? I know that where I live, in western Oklahoma, there are many cotton farmers and we get little to no rainfall and are known to have drought. I think people believe that in order to get good cotton, you need lots of water, but where I live that is not the case.
ReplyDeleteGrace,
DeleteThe only reasoning I could come up with why they would say cotton requires little water is that perhaps they were comparing it with the water requirements of other agricultural products. I wonder if there are other agricultural products that could be grown in western Oklahoma that would require less water so that they could have rain-watered crops instead of having to irrigate.