COMPARATIVE STUDY ON CONVENTIONAL COTTON, ORGANIC COTTON AND BCI COTTON

Cotton: Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a ball, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor percentages of  waxes, fats, pectin and water. [1]

Figure: Cotton Fiber [a]

CHEMICAL STRUCTURE OF COTTON:

Figure: Chemical Structure of Cotton [b]

Stages of cotton flower and fruit formation: Cotton fibers come from cotton plants. Specifically, they grow from the seed coat—the outer layer of the cotton plant's seeds. Before they can be turned into sheets or t-shirts, the cotton seeds must first be separated from the plant, and then the fibers from the seeds. [2]

1. Flower Bud
2. Flower
3. Developing seed pod
4. Seed pod dries and opens, revealing mature cotton fibers

Figure: Stages of cotton flower and fruit formation [c]

Properties of Cotton Fiber:

• Cotton is highly absorbent and can wick moisture away from the skin. 
• Cotton allows air to pass through it. 
• Cotton is about 20% stronger when wet than dry. 
• Cotton can wrinkle easily. 
• Cotton will shrink unless treated. 
• Cotton is usually cream-white, but the color can vary depending on how it's grown. 
• Cotton fibers vary in length, and this affects the quality of the yarn. 
• Cotton has low elastic recovery, meaning it doesn't recover well from deformation. 
• Cotton fibers are longer and have higher fineness, while shorter fibers have lower fineness. 

LARGEST COTTON PRODUCER IN THE WORLD (1961 TO 2021):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IWIQED1zn0

CONVENTIONAL COTTON 

• Conventional cotton production is dependent on a lot of water, high doses of fertilizer, and pesticides to control insects, pests, weeds, and chemical additives that regulate growth. 
• Cotton is very pesticide intensive crop. It is grown on 2.5% of the world’s agricultural land but consumes 16% of all the insecticides and 7% of all herbicides used worldwide-that’s more than any other crop in the world.
• Very harmful chemicals are used on cotton crops, including nerve agents and neurotoxins.
• Almost 1kg of hazardous pesticides is used globally for every one hectare of cotton cropland.
• US $3.3 billion of chemicals are sprayed on cotton crops globally every year. [3, 4, 5]

ORGANIC COTTON:

Organic cotton is grown without synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides and with cottonseed stock that is not genetically modified. In organic cotton production, farmers reduce the use of pesticides and can only use natural fertilizers, no synthetic fertilizers are allowed. Furthermore, farming operations utilize all-natural seed, as opposed to any genetically engineered varieties.

Compared to conventionally grown cotton, the main advantages of organic cotton are improved soil health, higher water quality and biodiversity, and significantly less resource depletion. Farmers will also benefit from improved health outcomes and higher economic returns if they sell at the organic price.

Organic standards vary by country, but they all prohibit the use of genetically modified cotton seeds, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers; they also require an independent third-party assessment to ensure that standards are met. [3, 4, 5]

TYPES OF ORGANIC COTTON [6]: 

a.      IC1 cotton is cotton that has been grown organically for one year.

b.     IC2 cotton is cotton that has been grown organically for two years.

c.      IC3 cotton is cotton that has been grown organically for three years.

(Note: The "IC" stands for "in-conversion)

3^RD PARTY CERTIFICATION OF ORGANIC COTTON:

OEKO-TEX® ORGANIC COTTON:

 

Testing and certification according to OEKO-TEX® ORGANIC COTTON involves the following aspects and parameters [7]

• Supply chain traceability to the field (cultivation)
• Genetically modified cotton (qualitative and quantitative) and numerous pesticides to prevent mixing with conventional cotton
• Testing for harmful substances (i) Legally prohibited and regulated substances, (ii) Chemicals whose harmful effects are known but not legally regulated, (iii) Substances for which a harmful effect is likely

GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARD (GOTS):

The GOTS quality assurance system is based on on-site inspection and certification of the entire textile supply chain (processing and trade). Certification is performed by independent, approved 3rd party Certification Bodies, which is a requirement of an ISO 14024 Type 1 environmental labelling program. Operators from post-harvest handling up to garment making, as well as wholesalers (including exporters and importers), must undergo an on-site annual inspection cycle and must hold a valid certification for the final products to be labelled as GOTS certified. [8]

Organic Content Standard (OCS): 

The Organic Content Standard (OCS) is a voluntary global standard that sets the criteria for third-party certification of organic materials and chain of custody. A professional, third-party certification body audits each stage in the supply chain. Certification makes sure the identity of the organic content is maintained from the farm to the final product. [9]

BETTER COTTON INITIATIVE (BCI) :

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a non profit, multi stakeholder governance group that promotes better standards in cotton farming. According to the system, cotton farming must meet specific environmental and social requirements. Its goal is to make all cotton more environmentally friendly. BCI is currently the only notable sustainability standard in the cotton sector that allows farmers to grow genetically modified cotton. [3, 4, 5]

BCI Cotton-

• Minimize use of harmful pesticides
• Reduce water consumption (i) Conventional Cotton 541 m³/1 ton of seed cotton, (ii) Organic cotton 391 m³/1 ton of seed cotton, (iii) BCI Cotton (330 m³/1 ton of seed cotton) 
• Cares for the health of the soil

AUTHOR: 

Md. Suruj-Zaman

B.Sc in Textile Engineering

Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET)

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571887842046&mibextid=ZbWKwL

REFERENCE:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
2. https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cotton/what/
3. https://caslay.in/blogs/news/organic-cotton-vs-conventional-cotton-key-differences?srsltid=AfmBOopbonJrkp03AvtKIJyP5DucmeGYGrI2xKTn7nNwyLmAJYVVo5Au
4. https://textileapex.com/cotton-vs-organic-cotton-find-the-key-differences/
5. https://apparelscience.com/difference-between-conventional-cotton-organic-cotton-and-bci-cotton/
6. https://textilesbar.com/what-is-organic-cotton-ic2-ic3/
7. https://www.hohenstein.com.bd/en-bd/oeko-tex/input-control/organic-cotton
8. https://global-standard.org/certification-and-labelling/certification
9. https://textileexchange.org/organic-content-standard/

IMAGE SOURCE: 

a.  https://www.vecteezy.com/photo/46349194-calming-ready-to-harvest-cotton-landscapes-for-web-use

b. https://www.cottoninc.com/quality-products/nonwovens/cotton-fiber-tech-guide/cotton-morphology-and-chemistry/

c. https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cotton/what/