Organic Baby Clothes

Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton that is grown without chemical fertilisers or pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified. In the United States the USDA National Organic Program sets the standardUSDA NOP [http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/NOP] although this was designed for food and can lead to some confusion. OrganicConsumers.org [http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_13833.cfm] As of 2007, 265,517 bales of organic cotton were produced in 24 countries and worldwide production was growing at a rate of more than 50% per year. Cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land yet uses 16% of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop. EJF. (2007). The deadly chemicals in cotton. Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network UK: London, UK. ISBN No. 1-904523-10-2.

Though organic cotton has less environmental impact than conventional cotton, it costs more to produce. Side-effects of conventional production that are avoided in organic growing methods include:

*High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton. Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts in total for 16% of the world's pesticides.

*The chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters.

*Residual chemicals may irritate consumers' skin.

*The conventional cotton industry relies on a high level of forced child labor.http://www.ejfoundation.org/page330.html

Naturally colored cotton has also been grown successfully with organic methods.Dickerson et al. "Naturally colored cotton" CATI 990901