Organic cotton, what is the most fashionable thing to wear in green fashion? The answer can be found from Hollywood stars who always lead the fashion trend.

Actresses Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts not only put on organic cotton T-shirts, but also wore organic cotton clothes, socks and hats for their children.

In recent years, with the rising awareness of environmental protection, the fashion industry has also set off a green trend (Eco Chic). In particular, the demand for organic cotton products that do not use pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the planting process has grown rapidly in the consumer market. According to the information of Taiwan Textile Industry Development Exhibition, the total retail sales of organic cotton products worldwide in 2006 reached 1.1 billion US dollars, equivalent to 36 billion Taiwan dollars, an increase of 85% over 2005. The Organic Exchange further estimated that the growth trend will continue, and the total retail sales in 2010 will reach 6.8 billion US dollars, equivalent to 230 billion Taiwan dollars.

A number of well-known brands have already entered the increasingly hot organic cotton market, such as Nike, adidas, Timberland, Levis have successively launched organic cotton T-shirts, sportswear, casual shoes, jeans, etc., while boutique brands GUCCI, YSL, etc. have also launched organic cotton series T-shirts and bags, pushing organic and environmental awareness to the forefront of fashion.

If you attach importance to your own and family's health and are willing to take environmental responsibility, you might consider adding organic cotton to your shopping list.

Environment pays a high price

Cotton always gives people the impression of being natural, healthy, comfortable and pure, but in fact, most of the cotton products we wear are not only far from these descriptions, but also one of the terrible killers that poison the ecological environment.

The most shocking thing is that cotton is grown by conventional farming methods, and a large amount of pesticides are used.

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOMA) pointed out that the global cotton planting area accounts for about 3% of the global agricultural land. However, a quarter of the total amount of pesticides used in the world are sprinkled into cotton fields, including some highly toxic and carcinogenic pesticides, such as organic phosphorus and organic chlorine, which seriously pollute the soil and groundwater and cause tens of thousands of cotton farmers to get sick or die a year, It does great harm to natural ecology and human health.

The use of a large number of pesticides is not the only problem in cotton production. In order to maintain the yield and quality, many chemical nitrogen fertilizers are also applied during the planting process, which will make the soil salinize and reduce the productivity for a long time, and eventually, crops may not be planted again.

Moreover, there is also a health and pollution crisis from the cotton harvest to the clothing. For example, in order to make the cotton (raw cotton color) with light brown color become white as snow, most of the cotton will be bleached with chlorine, which will produce carcinogens and pollute the environment in the process; The dyes used to dye clothes also contain arsenic, mercury, lead and other health threatening heavy metals; In order to prevent clothes from "wrinkling", the irritating carcinogen formaldehyde is usually added.

Habitual agricultural laws hurt the environment, growers and consumers. Therefore, organic cotton, which benefits human health and the environment, is gradually being valued. Many domestic and foreign manufacturers devote themselves to developing commodities.

Compared with 5 to 6 years ago, there are quite few organic cotton products in Taiwan's consumer market, with limited style choices, and almost all of them are imported products. The price is on the high side, which makes it difficult for most consumers to get close to them. Now, several domestic spinning mills and organic channels, such as Li Ren and housewives' union, have imported and manufactured relevant goods by themselves, from baby products, underwear, socks, T-shirts, towels and bed sheets, to organic cotton jeans, The choice is diversified, and the price is at least 20% to 30% cheaper than that of imports.

Liren Company, which promotes organic agriculture in China, invested in the organic cotton market five years ago, and developed and produced clothing. Lihan Jingbai said that he found that cotton used so many pesticides, so he decided to promote organic cotton. "This is really significant for environmental protection and ecology."