ORGANIC COTTON

Cotton is used most out of any other natural fiber.

It is used for its various qualities - controlling moisture, providing comfort, hypoallergenic, insulation, weatherproof and it is a durable fabric.

Moisture control – Cotton is breathable, it wicks moisture away from the body and its absorbent.

Insulation - Cotton protects against the cold in the winter and heat in the summer by providing thermal insulation as air is trapped between fabric fibers.

Comfort – Cotton is soft and easily stretched making it comfortable.

Durability – Cotton has a high tensile strength so is strong and durable, less likely to rip or tear.

Organic clothing means that the materials were grown without synthetic additives or pesticides. Conventional cotton production has caused soil fertility to lower, a loss of biodiversity and life threatening health problems to those exposed repeatedly to the toxic chemicals used in pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Environmentally, Organic Cotton is said to be the better Cotton.

 Organic Cotton is handpicked preserving the quality of every fiber. By hand picking the Cotton, the farmer can be sure that no fiber is damaged in the process. Organic Cotton products are softer than regular Cotton because of the long fibers. Regular Cotton is machine picked, as there is a high demand for it, in this process the fibers get damaged, leading to loss and wastage. Regular Cotton is grown over and over again on the same soil, making the quality of the soil degrade, removing the nutrients and leading to unhealthy crops due to the pesticides used on these Cotton crops. These crops require more water than the organic crops, so are heavily irrigated which results in water wastage. With Organic Cotton farming, the crops are rotated from one soil to another, this keeps the nutrients in the soils and the water, which then means less irrigation. As the soil is still full of good nutrients this results in all round healthier crops. Weeding of regular Cotton uses chemicals – herbicides that kill weeds. The use of these harmful chemicals affects the quality of crops, it draws out moisture and nutrients from the soil and can harm the farmers. With Organic Cotton, the weeding is done by hand, hoeing and different non-toxic processes.

This all being said, Organic Cotton does also have its faults. Organic Cotton farming still requires a lot of water, not as much as regular Cotton, but still a fair amount. Organic Cotton is a longer more costly process than regular Cotton and cannot meet the demand and supply of the fast fashion world.

The environmental impact on the planet of using organic cotton over regular cotton is a lot less damaging however to reduce your impact further you should try to only buy durable, quality organic cotton products which will last longer and not need replacing as often.

Here at SHUG Yoga we have carefully sourced our Organic Cotton fabric for our first batch of fabulous SHUGs, not only for its environmental benefits but also for its durability, comfort and quality....

They will be available to buy online here soon....watch this space!