How much water does it take to make one cotton t-shirt?

According to the Eco Trip documentary series, producing a single cotton t-shirt requires approximately 500 gallons of water.

Is cotton regulated as a food crop by the FDA?

Cotton is not regulated as a food crop by the FDA, meaning pesticides used on cotton are not subject to the same oversight applied to food crops, even though cottonseed oil appears in many common food products.

What percentage of cotton is used in textiles?

Only about 30% of cotton is used in textiles. The remaining cottonseed and byproducts are fed to cattle or used in food products such as chips, cookies, popcorn, and peanut butter.

What is Eco Trip: The Real Cost of Living about?

Eco Trip: The Real Cost of Living is an eight-part Sundance Channel series hosted by David de Rothschild that investigates the environmental, social, and health impacts of everyday products including cotton t-shirts, paper napkins, bottled water, and cell phones.

Where is most cotton grown in the United States?

According to the Eco Trip series, cotton is primarily grown in the southern United States.

The Look, The Feel, The Danger of Non-Organic Cotton?

Whenever I think of cotton I think of a crisp white towel, t-shirt, or the perfect sheet until I saw David de Rothschild on Eco-Trip .

The Sundance Channel describes the show best:

“David de Rothschild hosts this informative show on a ECO TRIP: THE REAL COST OF LIVING is an eight-part original series exploring the origins and environmental impact of common everyday products. Hosted by eco-adventurer David de Rothschild, whose far-flung travels have garnered international attention, the half-hour primetime program investigates iconic items from cotton t-shirts and paper napkins to salmon and cell phones, and follows their life cycle from production to disposal, revealing the environmental, social and health effects along the way. ECO TRIP: THE REAL COST OF LIVING inspires and educates viewers on what they can do to live a greener life. Episodes are: Chocolate, Cotton T-Shirt, Gold Ring, Paper Napkin, Light Bulb, Bottled Water, Cellphone, Salmon.”

Some of the highlighted facts that caught my attention about cotton are:

1. It takes 500 gallons of water to make ONE… JUST ONE t-shirt!

2. Cotton is not regulated as a food crop & it is one of the most highly pesticide sprayed crops.

3. Only 30 % of cotton is used in textiles whilst the rest of the cottonseed and leftover product are fed to cattle &/or used in our food products. Chips, cookies, popcorn, peanut butter… a lot of foods have cottonseed oil in them. Take a look on the back of some of the crackers you may be feeding your kids. I did.

4. Cotton is primarily grown in the southern states.

After watching how hard cotton is on the environment, and how it is unregulated or even tested for pesticides by the FDA, I’ve kind of lost that whole wholesome feeling surrounding cotton.

I would like to additionally mention that David interviews a family who farms organic cotton and does so successfully. So it can be done. Makes me wonder… why isn’t it required that all cotton be organic and why isn’t the FDA who is suppose to be protecting us doing so?

For a better explanation of how cotton is grown, and it’s impact upon the environment and our health I highly recommend watching the show. It’s extremely informative and I have to point out that the host is rather nice to look at in that burly Cat Stevens kind of way. 🙂

Hunky Host of Eco-Trip, David de Rothschild

So what do you think?

The Look, The Feel, The Danger of Non-Organic Cotton?

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