Cultivation of cotton is killing the planet. It is high time that cotton clothing is replaced with a more sustainable alternative. Hemp is a sustainable crop whose durability can greatly reduce the production of cotton We all love clothes. Clothing does more than just covering our body. It is an important part of our culture and crucial to our self-expression. Our style is how we retain our individuality, how we distinguish ourselves from others. Hence, your cupboards like mine must be filled with different items of clothing for different occasions. Summer, winter, spring, casual, activewear, night outs, etc.; there are so many occasions in life, and for each one, we need a different outfit. As a result, pollution owing to textile and textile waste has become a great threat to the environment. We don’t realize the impact of our clothes on the environment. Textile production is responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products. Fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions According to the European Environment Agency, in 2017 in Europe textile purchases generated about 654 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per person. Because clothing trends change so fast, there are more unwanted clothes than ever. No one has the time to donate, so we pick the easier option, to throw away clothes. Even if you donate clothes, most of the clothes do not end up going to the poor and being reused. These clothes are sent to third-world countries where they are incinerated. Globally less than 1% of clothes are recycled as clothing, partly due to inadequate technology. A major reason why we’re throwing away clothes and purchasing more is because clothes don’t last. Their colors fade, they tear easily, or they are just too hard to maintain. Cotton is draining our resources Most of our textile is cotton. If you didn’t know already, cotton, although a natural fiber is extremely taxing for the environment. Cotton clothing plays a huge role in these staggering statistics of the textile industry. Cultivating cotton requires a lot of water. One cotton shirt can use more than 5000 gallons of water. Cotton relies heavily on pesticides. Globally, 25% of the pesticides go to the cultivation of cotton. These pesticides then wash off to unintended areas and mix with our land and water resources which can cause long-term health issues. More than 10,000 US farmers die each year from cancers related to such chemicals. These chemicals generally stay in the fabric after production and are released over the lifespan of your clothing. Hence, cotton clothing can be toxic for your skin. Organic cotton which is usually thought of as eco-friendly because it uses no pesticides, also heavily depletes our resources. The yield of organic cotton is much lower than traditional cotton, hence, it requires more water and more land to produce the same amount of fabric as traditional cotton. Moreover, most benefits of organic cotton are offset due to unsustainable farming practices. Cotton cultivation causes soil degradation and erosion as well as loss of forest area and other habitats. Cotton production is responsible for the emission of 220 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. The reason we’re throwing away clothes is cotton Since we’re sacrificing so much to produce cotton, the fabric should ideally be perfect, something that maybe lasts forever. Or else, what’s the point of it all? What are we really getting in return? Are cotton clothes durable? The answer is no. The durability of clothing refers to the service life and the elements that cause them to be no longer wearable. Cotton clothing has poor elasticity. Your cotton clothes will most likely shrink after a spin in the washing machine. And because cotton also has poor resiliency, your clothes won’t return to their original shape. Hence, your clothing ends up in your trash. Cotton is a natural fiber, hence it risks damage from mildew. Unless you take extra care of your cotton clothing, the dyes in these clothes can fade in the washer and dryer. Cotton clothing wrinkles easily, so you have to iron it often. High heat then sets the fibers and the garment shrinks. And just like that, your clothing becomes useless. Cotton is hard to maintain and you’re likely to discard your cotton clothing after you wear it twice or thrice. Hemp is the alternative to cotton To solve this problem of wastage, we need another raw material which is eco-friendly and superior to cotton and at the same time looks just as fashionable. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? It’s not. We already have that raw material, hemp. Hemp, also known as industrial hemp, is a variety of Cannabis sativa that has various uses. It can be used in construction, for nutrition in the form of hemp seeds and even to extract natural fibers. Hemp itself is a zero-waste plant because each part of the plant from the leaves to the seeds have some commercial use. I understand, if you’re feeling unsure about hemp because it is a variety of Cannabis sativa from which cannabis as a drug is obtained. However, hemp causes no psychoactive effects. This is because hemp has lower concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and higher concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD). Hemp can heal the environment The reason why I am so focused on hemp is that unlike cotton, it is eco-friendly. Hemp is a low-input and high-yield crop. Cotton yields only 1/3rd of the amount of fiber produced by hemp per hectare. Moreover, hemp requires much less water and no chemicals. 300-500 liters of water to produce 1kg of dry hemp matter, whereas 10,000 liters of water is required to produce 1kg of cotton. Because so many pesticides are used in growing cotton, the quality of soil deteriorates. Hemp revitalizes the soil. Hence, hemp can be grown on infertile lands and be used to improve the quality of soil. Hemp also consumes a lot of carbon dioxide from the air and hence helps restore thermal balance. […]
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