Since first posting this series in March of 2008, we have supported the industry in setting the record straight.
Several organizations have removed the incorrect and outdated information from their websites, as well as other blogs are now reporting on these facts.
This has become one of this blogs most searched-for pieces. Therefore.....here it is again....corrected facts on the chemicals in cotton. Read carefully and report the facts.
It takes 2.86 ounces of chemicals to grow a pound of US cotton...NOT 5 ounces or a 1/3 pound.
The
definition of organic agriculture (including cotton) is: “Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains
and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent
pesticides and fertilizers. Organically produced foods also must be produced without
the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and other
excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. National organic standards
require that organic growers and handlers be certified by third-party state or
private agencies or other organizations that are accredited by USDA.”
Though often misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the term
pesticide also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances
used to control pests. Under United States law, a pesticide is also any
substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator,
defoliant, or desiccant.
What is a fertilizer, and isn't it
a pesticide? No, fertilizers are not the same as pesticides. "The USDA definition of
pesticides is quite broad, but it does have some exclusions: Fertilizers, nutrients, and
other substances used to promote
plant survival and health are not considered plant growth regulators and thus
are not pesticides."
A fertilizer is any substance that is added to soil in
order to increase its productivity. Fertilizers can be of biological origin (eg
composts), or they can be synthetic (artificial fertilizer). Fertilizers are
substance that improves the ability of soil to produce crops, they are
considered plant nutrients, substances that feed the plants.
Corrected
facts on the growing of conventional cotton and it's comparison to organic cotton from previous post:
0.08637 ounces of pesticides are
used to grow a pound of cotton fiber in the US.
*Utilizing fertilizer data provided by the USDA,
there
are 2.7731 ounces of fertilizers used to grow a pound of cotton fiber.
(144.03 pounds per acre x 16=2,304.48 ounces divided by the 831 pounds
per acre yield =2.7731
This
calculates to 2.8595 ounces of
pesticides and fertilizers to grow a pound of cotton, far less than the
5 ounces per pound, that was the outdated previously reported statistic. Also note that 97% of the chemicals are fertilizers, while 3% are pesticides.
*Please note: It
is not known what fraction of the fertilizers as reported by USDA are
organic-approved versus organic-disallowed. Thus it is impossible to sum
pesticides and fertilizers and get total synthetic chemicals applied. It is
reasonable to expect that most of the USDA reported pesticides currently
applied to cotton are synthetic chemicals.There are NOP approved fertilizers used on conventional cotton production. It is a known fact that NOT all
fertilizers are synthetic chemicals since dairy, chicken and feedlot manure is
commonly applied to cotton. Cotton fields respond well to manure and cotton
tolerates the salts prevalent in cattle manure.
"Organic Cotton Fact
Check" in perspective;
Most organizations in the organic
cotton business, take a single purchase, seasonal or annual purchases to
document the amount of savings in purchasing organic cotton vs. conventional
cotton, a practice I strongly encourage as long as you are using correct facts.
As an example an organization that
is using the outdated information is reporting for every 100,000 pounds of
organic cotton purchased, they are saving 31,250 pounds of pesticides and
fertilizers from the planet.
Using the above current USDA
information that same 100,000 pounds of organic cotton purchased would be
saving 8,637 ounces or 540 pounds of pesticides and 17, 312 pounds of
fertilizers. A total of 17,852 pounds per 100,00 pounds of cotton fiber versus
the previously reported 31,250, a difference of 13,398 pounds or 43% less than
previously reported. Since we cannot distinguish synthetic from organic
fertilizers in the USDA data, it is noted that this calculation is on the high end of the scale.
Facts:
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Environmental
Marketing Guides.
“Your label claims CANNOT be
deceptive.” “It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that
a product, package or service offers a general environmental benefit.”
According
to PAN-UK; "The figure of 1/3 pounds pesticides per pound of cotton is
completely wrong. That would be the end of the world if so much pesticide was
used in the world."
You
should distinguish between pesticides and
fertilizers in your marketing materials. Fertilizers make up 97% of the
inputs to cotton, while pesticides are at 3%. Noted environmental and
health impacts of fertilizers include but are not limited to: runoff
into streams; possible contamination of water as well as eutrophication, and penetration to underground water tables again with possible contamination.
Therefore
the previous usage of 1/3 pounds of pesticides in a t-shirt and or
pound of cotton would be incorrect, if used you would be overstating by over 40%.
The information noted by the
resources in this four part series is considered correct as of this
date.
The Sustainable Cotton Project
