We have expressed it previously and will say it once more: it's tough to make anything supportable at scale. That being said, we're focused on further developing our business at whatever point and every possible opportunity, from our bundling to how we plan our garments.

One thing we're consistently reconsidering is our materials. For the past year, we've taken huge steps in a single region: changing from ordinary cotton to natural cotton.

What Makes Cotton So Beloved

Cotton is undoubtedly one of our favorite materials to work with. It's amazingly adaptable — contingent upon how you weave it or finish it, it very well may be utilized for everything from delicate sweaters to water-safe outerwear.

It's likewise normal, biodegradable, breathable, simple to focus on, agreeable, delicate, and solid. Almost 50% of the fiber utilized in the material business is cotton, which is where things get risky.

The Problem(s) with Ordinarily Developed Cotton

First up, it requires an insane measure of water to develop — delivering the cotton for one standard white tee expects more than 700 gallons of water.

• What difference does it make?
• Our planet might be 70% water; however, just 3% of that is freshwater — what we want to drink, wash, and ranch with. Moreover, 66% of that 3% isn't open. Admittance to clean water is a colossal worldwide issue, and when we go through or contaminate regular water frameworks, we stress a generally focused framework.

Routinely developed cotton is the guilty party behind 25% of the world's insect spray and 10% pesticide use — more than some other harvest on the planet.

• What difference does it make?
• Pesticides can obliterate neighborhood biological systems, hurt animals, are expensive for ranchers, and can hurt nearby networks, influencing nearby food and water supplies and, in any event, causing illness.

Additionally, laborers might pick regular cotton in cold and hazardous conditions. So what should be possible?

 Why We REALLY Love Organic Cotton

Organic cotton isn’t perfect, but it improves on a few key things over conventionally grown cotton:

• It’s grown without the use of any chemicals — that means no pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides polluting the land or harming communities. 
• It’s grown from non-GMO seeds, for improved biodiversity. 
• It requires 91% less water to grow than conventional cotton. 
• It keeps the soil healthier, meaning farmers can grow on the same land for longer.
• It produces 46% less CO2 than conventional cotton. 

...And it’s hypoallergenic, too! All this and more are why we’re focusing on making the shift across our products to organic cotton whenever possible. 

Of course, there are two sides to every coin. One of the arguments against organic cotton is that it yields less per acre than conventional cotton does, implying that ultimately it may actually require more water to grow; and it’s still grown at scale and requires transportation, with all the environmental ramifications that entails. That being said, we think the pros here outweigh the cons. 

There are also loads of different kinds of cotton, even within the organic spectrum — keep an eye out for the following whenever you're making any shopping decisions:

• Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) Cotton: Farmers promote water stewardship and responsible land use to protect workers and the environment.

• Organic Content Standard (OCS) Cotton: Traceable from the field to the customer, and is grown from non-GMO seeds without chemicals.
  
  
• Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Cotton: The gold standard! Covers everything OCS does and goes further to ensure a humane and environmentally safe process, from fiber to textile distribution.

All of which is to say: cotton that’s certified both Fairtrade and Organic would be the best of both worlds — but other options do exist.

Our goal for 2021 is to continue expanding the number of our styles made with organic cotton, and to ensure they're all certified by one verifying body.