Cotton is the most common textile fiber in clothing. It is a fiber that demands much water and, when conventionally cultivated, chemicals both during cultivation and production. Of all cotton that is cultivated only 2 % is constituted by organic cotton.
Cotton grows on plants and is a crop that is relatively hard to cultivate. It is sensitive to drought, heavy rain, cold, insect attacks and diseases. Cotton also require heat and is cultivated on all continents around the equator.
Beyond heat the cotton plants need alot of water. That is regardless of if it is organically or conventionally grown. 1 kilo of cotton requires about 10 000 litres of water. To put it in further perspective the amount of water for one T-shirt is 2700 litres and a pair of jeans 11 000 litres of water.
Organic cotton is grown without pesticides, fertilizers and GMO and the soil on which the cotton i grown must have been chemical free for three years. An organic cotton field can give poorer harvest and often require a larger effort than conventional cultivation.