Benefits of Organic Baby Clothing
Information about pesticides, cotton crops, and chemical treatment of crops is changing the way we think about clothing. Cotton is one of the biggest crops grown for use in clothing production. Since it is not a food crop the pesticides, herbicides and chemicals used on cotton are not regulated.
Even though cotton only uses less than 3% of all cultivated land, 25% of the world's pesticides and 10% of the world's insecticides are used on it yearly. For every t-shirt produced, .5 pound of pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used. During the conversion of conventional cotton into clothing, many potentially toxic chemicals are added at each stage - harsh petroleum scours, softeners, brighteners, heavy metals, flame and soil retardants, ammonia and formaldehyde.
Cotton and Your Baby
A baby's skin is more porous and thinner than an adult's skin and therefore absorbs things very easily. It's less resistant to bacteria and harmful substances in the environment, especially if it's irritated. Babies also sweat less efficiently than adults, so it's harder for them to maintain their inner body temperature. This puts them at greater risk for pesticide-related health problems than adults.
Choosing organic clothing for your children cuts down on their exposure to toxins. Organic clothing uses cotton that is not farmed in the conventional ways. Pesticides are not used; rather, other safer methods are used to produce the crops, such as crop rotation, physical removal of weeds instead of use of herbicides, hand hoeing, using beneficial insects to counteract the bad and many more. Therefore, workers have better working conditions, water quality is not compromised by run-off, and strong healthy soil is built. The end product is a cotton fabric that is toxin free.
Organic cotton is safer, sturdier, cheaper and it feels better than conventional cotton. Organic clothing may be more expensive when you first buy it, but when compared to the cheaper cotton product it gives you your money's worth. Conventionally produced cotton material lasts 10-20 washes before it starts to break down. An organic cotton material lasts for 100 washes or more before it begins to wear down. This is because the cotton fibers in conventionally produced cotton take so much abuse in production because it goes through scouring, bleaching, dying, softeners, formaldehyde spray, and flame and soil retardants before it is even shipped to be cut for patterns.
Creating a natural and safe environment for their children is very important for many parents. Choosing organic fibers is an important step towards safe and natural living.
