Organic Baby

Did you know?

- 20,000 deaths occur from pesticide poisoning every year in developing countries, according to WHO.

- Organic clothing and textiles are produced without the use of harmful chemicals, providing a solution that's better for people and better for the planet.

- Organic agriculture replaces chemical pest control with crop rotation to maintain soil fertility.

- To farmers, the organic way, means no more sickness caused by proximity to ghastly chemicals. Furthermore, farmers no longer need to get into debt that often caused when buying expensive fertilizers.

- Cotton is a hugely chemical intesive crop, using approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the world's pesticides. But it only grows on 3% of the world's farmlad.

Certification of Organic Cotton

Certification of organic cotton production adds credibility to the final product. When a grower or processor is "certified organic," an independent organisation has verified that the company meets or exceeds defined organic standards. Certified organic farms are inspected regularly and must maintain comprehensive records of their production methods.

Certification programmes and standards vary, especially in response to regional differences, although there are general underlying concepts. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) has produced Basic Standards covering organic production and also textile processing which provide a minimum basis upon which standards in many countries have been based. The International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) also exists to accredit certification systems. There are many certification agencies worldwide for organic cotton production but far fewer for certifying cotton processing to assure reduced health and environmental impacts. Several sets of processing standards exist in Europe (KRAV and SKAL for example), and others are being developed in Europe and in the United States.