The Cotton Club

Mercerized cotton is also known as pearl or pearle cotton. This yarn undergoes a number of processes to provide it extra luster and sheen. Cotton is naturally found as a boll. Each string of the yarn is a produce a single seed. The fiber grows on the inner side of a sheath where each night a new layer of cellulose is added. When thirty such layers form, it gives an appearance of cylindrical pole. When the boll at the tip of the cylindrical pole bursts open, the sun and air dry it up.

There have been any number of attempts to alter the appearance of the fiber since long, but not with much effect. John Mercer worked on the cotton fiber for long and got a British Patent for his efforts on cotton, linen and other fibrous products. He was able to bring about certain changes to the fiber when he treated it with caustic soda, sulfuric acid and other chemicals. He recorded these changes, finding caustic soda to make the fiber to swell, rounded and straighten. However, this could not bring change in the luster. The changes that Mercer brought to the cotton fabric hardly had anyone from the British cotton trade and industry interested. His work had remained in the dark for about forty years until Horace Lowe was granted a British patent in 1890. According to Lowe, Mercer’s caustic soda treatment on cotton yarn under tension resulted in providing high luster to the fiber. The idea was accepted by the industry and Mercerized cotton became famous.

Cotton is among the most likeable and preferable fabrics, being natural and soft in texture. It makes for comfortable clothing like jeans, shirts, sportswear, socks, dresses, pants, and other fashion accessories. Of late, there has been an encouraging demand for organic cotton clothing.

Cotton depends heavily on insecticides. 25% of the insecticides used in the USA goes into the cotton crop fields. The ever-increasing demand for high quality cotton has resulted in the use of pesticides. The environment has been bearing the brunt of the increase in chemical use. Soil and ground water are two casualties that harm us most, besides the cottonseed oil that goes into most processed foods that we eat. 

The way out of this predicament is for the consumer to insist on organic cotton products. People are gradually turning to organically grown cotton. Organic cotton is produced without using chemical or synthetic fertilizers. The demand for organic cotton baby clothing is on the rise. No chemical dyes or bleaches are used, which makes the cotton allergy-free and safe for babies. Fertilizers that come from natural sources and compost are used to augment the growth of the crop. The use of natural pesticides like ladybugs is encouraged to destroy harmful pests and insects. Organic cotton products are being seen increasingly on the market.

If you look around, you will find products like shirts, trousers, jeans, socks, dresses, and more such items lined up on store shelves. Designers are working on newer styles to cater to the growing consumer demand. The use of organic cotton is marred by colored dyes made from synthetic products, and chemicals that are toxic. However, to overcome the problem, organically colored cotton is being produced. Colored cotton is being grown that come in shades of green, brown, and yellow. Chemically dyed cotton is expensive than colored cotton grown organically. The advantage of colored organic cotton is that it does not fade away, and is most suitable to people who are allergic or sensitive to colored dyes.

Since clothing business is among the top fashion businesses, the consumer holds the key to its survival. All trends will follow the dictates of the consumer. People’s preference of organic cotton over other cotton treated with insecticides and chemicals, is tilting the balance in favor of naturally grown products. The time is not far when organic cotton will completely rule the fashion roost.

Did you know that cotton, the most popular of fabrics, is also ingested in the form of food? Not in the wildest of our dreams would we think that we are eating cotton. We use 40% of the plant (the boll) for fabric use, while the rest of the 60% goes into making cottonseed oil and some other by-products. Cottonseed oil is used in processed foods such as salad dressings, and snacks in the US. The consumption of the oil annually is around half a million tons. As per conservative estimates, three million tons of raw cottonseed is used in the dairy industry as feed for cattle that produce milk products and beef. Ultimately, when we consume these products cotton enters our system.

Though on the face of it, it all appears harmless. But, the underlying fact is that the cotton plant is most intensively sprayed with insecticides worldwide. Of the entire insecticide usage globally, over 10% is used on the cotton plant alone, whereas the US accounts for 25% of its total insecticide usage on the cotton crop. What requires attention is that insecticides and pesticides that are unfit for spray on food crops are used on cotton. Consumers are normally led to believe that most pesticides break down soon, and are removed during processing, which is not the case. Research has shown that pesticides are not removed completely, as toxic defoliant tribufos (DEF) remains on the cottonseed and the by-products. Moreover, cottonseed oil is hardly tested for the presence of the toxic residues. Cotton is being increasingly genetically engineered. Unlike other food products, no labeling is required on cotton food items to show that these are genetically engineered products. 

The only way out to this situation presently is to use certified organic cotton products - both consumable and non-consumable. It is not only safe for your children and family, but also ensures that the soil and water remain free from the effects of harmful pesticides.

Like many other plants, the cotton plant too has been benefitting from bees. While bees feed on the cotton plant, they play a leading role in pollination. This mutually beneficial relationship is proving to be fatal to the bees ever since insecticide sprays have been resorted to. Cotton spraying is the major cause of bee deaths - more than from spraying of other crops.

Why are bees being killed without any concern for their role in pollination? The main reason is non-adherence to specific label directions concerning bees. Insecticides that are toxic to bees have label directions for use to minimize harm to them. The continuous decline in the population of one of the finest natural pollinators is a cause of concern for the environmentalists. And, all this can be avoided if cotton farmers adhere to the label directions in letter and spirit. It will help to educate the cotton growers that in the long-term, they will be the ones who will suffer from the dwindling bee population. What most people have come to recognize is the huge impact that bees have on our food supply. Beekeepers are doing a great service by domesticating bees and contributing to pollination in a great way.

Bee Foraging Facts

• Bees do not usually forage cotton before bloom. So pest control measures prior to bloom is beneficial.
• Bees do not forage blooming cotton at temperatures above 95º F.
• Nighttime is safe, since they are lodged in their beehives then.
• Bees forage blooming cotton before sunrise and until late morning in temperatures exceeding 90º F. Cotton farmers will need to monitor bee movement.
• When the temperature ranges from 70º - 80º F, bees can forage until afternoon.
• Bees prefer clear weather for foraging. They do forage in overcast conditions, but in reduced numbers.

Bees do not usually forage cotton before bloom. So pest control measures prior to bloom is beneficial.Cotton growers and farmers need be aware that since 1972. label directions are the law, and need to be strictly adhered to. Some samples of label directions are as follows.

Non-residual material
    “This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment on blooming crops or other vegetation. Avoid use when bees are actively foraging. Protective information may be obtained from your Cooperative Agricultural Extension Service.”
Residual material
    “This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment or residues on blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to blooming crops if bees are visiting the treatment area.”

You may be so used to using convenient diapers available in your neighborhood store that the thought of using cotton cloth diapers may never have occurred to you. Two major issues that favor the use of cloth diapers need considering: one – saving money, two – protecting the environment. 

Initially, buying cotton cloth diapers may sound costly, but over a period of time they are cost effective. You can wash and re-use them. And if you are planning another baby, the same old diapers will come in handy.

When it comes to protecting the environment, it is no one’s baby. We would rather conveniently shift the entire responsibility of keeping the environment clean on the government. Belonging to the use-and-throw generation, we have in no small measure contributed to turning the world into one large dumping ground. Billions of disposable diapers are being discarded every year without any concern. They do fill up our landfills, but at the cost of contaminating land and water, not to speak of billions of health-impacting bacteria that they give rise to.

Did you know that disposable diapers contain chemicals? Sodium Polyacrylate is used to break the liquid into gel. It can lead to toxic shock syndrome and give rise to allergic reactions. Dioxin, a by-product of the bleaching paper used in disposable diapers, is highly toxic and can lead to cancer.

Shifting to cotton cloth diapers is a viable option, which is safe for your children and the environment that they will grow into.