Part of the reason we at Bamboo Monkey advocate the use of Bamboo as a viable sustainably grown alternative to conventional cotton sourced from developing countries, is because our research revealed quite scary facts around both, the high levels of water and associated high insecticide and pesticide usage required to grow and maintain a crop of conventional cotton.
With statistics citing only 0.3% of the Earth's water is usable by humans, and in fact already 1.2 billion people actually lack access to drinkable water, using 20,000 litres of water to produce a tee shirt and a pair of jeans seems excessive.
As a global community we need to support initiatives that protect and nurture our natural resources, rather than deplete or pollute them.
However, to ensure a fair and balanced debate, what is great to see, is the leadership being shown by the Australian Cotton growers.
With sustainability as their key focus, Cotton Australia advises that Australian Cotton growers "now grow more cotton on less land, with more efficient water use and with less impact on the environment than ever before"
In Australia, the use of GM Cotton, genetically modified to contain a naturally occurring pest toxin, has led to an 85% reduction in pesticide usage.
The last decade has seen Australian growers achieve a 40% reduction in water usage, a higher yield from less land, and significant decrease in the use of chemicals through better faming practises and innovative systems.
Although our heart lies with Bamboo for our products, and organically grown cotton and we are not an advocate for GMO, it is great to see, given the high usage of cotton globally, the Australian Industry showing leadership in research and innovation to minimise the environmental impact of cotton.
So if you do shop cotton, try and make sure it is Australian Grown.