COTTON IS THE WORLD's DIRTIEST CROP

Why Organic Matters

The facts about cotton, are shocking. This is why organic matters:

-THE MOST heavily sprayed crop for insecticides worldwide ($3B annually)

-Accounts for 2.4% of the world’s cultivated land but 6% of world's pesticides + 16% of world's insecticide use

-1/3rd of the pesticides sprayed are considered “hazardous” by the WHO -7 of 15 pesticides commonly used on cotton in U.S. States listed as “possible,” “likely,” “probable” or “known” human carcinogens by the EPA

-INDIA produced 50% of world's cotton

-5.8 MILLION cotton farmers in India. Thousands poisoned from pesticides annually...OVER 270,000 have COMMITTED SUICIDE since 1995 (~10k/year)

-50% of Cotton in US is GMO, 95% of cotton in China is GMO

-200+ pounds of fertilizer per acre per year for industrial farmed cotton

-96% of US cotton using HERBICIDES like Glyphosate

-100,000+ HOURS worked by CHILD LABOR to produce a year

-UNQUANTIFIABLE environmental disruption + pollution from pesticide/fertilizer runoff

Most “organic” cotton grown in China or India would be suspect at best to me. There are very little regulations in the textile industry so there is no real penalty for lying or misleading on the fact that you are “organic”. There are a few sources in the USA which are high quality and transparent, so it is good to see more brands popping up sourcing locally.

Environmental toxins are everywhere, but the clothes we were and bedding we sleep on are one of the highest priorities for me to attack because they are constantly in close contact with our bodies. For sleeping especially, you are spending 1/3rd of life on your pillow cover and bed sheets, when you are supposed to be detoxifying, while instead most are exposing themselves to more chemicals that is eliciting more oxidative stress. It may seem like not that big of a deal, but the toxin load adds up. To me clothing + bedding are important to tackle.

We need to get out of the high time preference mindset and invest in higher quality products up front that promote health + last longer.

You can make the argument that industrial grown cotton is still better than plastic/polyester clothing…which has been shown to leach microplastics and affect fertility amongst other detrimental health effects, but to me it is not good enough. We need to make regenerative farming practices the standard, and that includes minimizing heavily or completely eliminating the use of herbicides.

“Regenerative practices are not scalable”. Yeah, not with the current state of consumerism and quality of the soil. The good part is, once you make the switch to a regenerative system, you start building back health in the soil quality. You bring back biodiversity and increase water retention, improving yields over time. Better for the health of our planet, and better for the health of society.

Normalize paying MORE for quality clothing/bedding/etc just like you would for quality food. Prices have been held artificially low by subsidies, outsourced labor, inhumane working conditions, and more for far too long. You also don’t need to buy that many items of clothing. Buy quality, and it will last 5-10x longer.

TLDR:

ORGANIC cotton matters. Big difference to the heavily sprayed industrial farmed cotton that is decimating soil health + supporting inhumane working conditions. Buy in the USA, higher quality and transparency of quality.

MY FAVORITE BRANDS:

1. Regenassaince-Founded by my good friend Ryan Griggs. We just released a podcast on his story HERE. Adding awareness to the importance of regenerative farming through his extremely based apparel brand. Organic cotton T’s that are extremely comfortable. He also takes Bitcoin for payment.

2. American Blossom Linens-USA made and sourced bed linens, pillow cases and towels. 100% organic cotton.

3. Woolshire-USA made and sourced wool pillows with 100% organic wool filling & 100% organic cotton pillow case.

4. Rawganique-100% organic cotton and hemp that is either made in USA or Bulgaria.

OTHER ALTERNATIVES

-Harvest and Mill (100% organic and made in the USA)

-Pact (Made in India)

-Patagonia (organic cotton, hemp clothes, but made all over & very woke)

-Banana Republic (some organic cotton, linen options)

Hopefully this sheds some light on the importance of natural fibers. I am also a huge fan of linen (which does get sprayed much if at all even in a conventional growing operation). Most important is your base layers (underwear), tight clothing, and bedwear. Outerwear you can get away with more low quality materials since it is barely touching your skin.

I have just released a full non toxic product guide of all the things I use on a daily basis that includes clothes, cookware, lights, supplements, skincare and MORE…check it out HERE (must request access to the live doc).

Stay Sovereign,

Tristan