Let's discuss the most commonly used natural fibre in the world, cotton. This humble fiber is second (in popularity) only to polyester in the world of textiles, representing around 25% of the total marketplace (Textile Exchange Fibre Report 2021).
Cotton is a summer-cultivated crop that is grown in a variety of topographies around the world with one common factor, which is typically hot and dry. Cotton thrives in long, hot summers and yields better as the season goes on. Well, it doesn't surprise me that there are 70 warm-weather countries all over the world producing cotton.
Cotton tends to get a bad rap in the media. For example, you'll read how thirsty a crop it is, how it takes 7,600L to make a single pair of cotton jeans, how it uses a disproportionate level of pesticides to grow, how much arable land it takes up that could be used for food, its ties to slavery, how genetic seed has caused mass monoculture plus the increase of pesticide-resistant-pests and subsequent decrease of yields. Google any one of these issues (and believe it or not, there are more than listed here) and you're bound to find hundreds of opinions on the matter. However, these issues are not always as black and white as they seem. Some of the issues are isolated, others are relegated in history, many are based on old and inaccurate datasets, while others may very well be true for particular regions. It's not to say these issues aren't important to understand and address, it's just that it's never as simple as the headlines appear. If any of these issues worry you, I'd recommend researching further from reputable, recent, and verified sources.
Let's look at water, for example. Current data from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) shows that the average amount of water needed to grow 1kg of cotton linter is 1,931L of blue water (that's irrigated water). This is a global average and simply doesn't represent a more nuanced reality. For example, many cotton growing areas in Africa and even India rely solely on rainwater to grow their cotton, so their data might show 0L for blue water. That got us interested in rain-fed cotton and we dived deeper. Water usage depends entirely on the geographical location, the specific farm, and the farmer's methods.
Kala Cotton
Kala means ‘black’ in some Indian languages, often leading to the misconception that Kala cotton is black in color, whereas it actually refers to the empty boll after extraction of the cotton fiber. As a crop, kala cotton is hardy, rain-fed, resistant to drought and pests, and requires little attention – making it an excellent organic crop to cultivate. From a weaving standpoint, it is laborious because of its short staple length, but the textile produced is strong, soft to touch, and tenacious.
Kala cotton is one of the staples of Whakato's fiber portfolio - it is indigenous to the region Kutch located on the West Coast of India. The farmers do not use any pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Kala cotton is a non-GMO organic seed - one of the oldest recorded strains of cotton - it is purely a rain-fed crop and does not require irrigation beyond natural rainfall.
How could it be better?
There is no perfect fiber, and kala cotton still has an impact on the land (like many other crops). If the rainfall doesn't sit well, a fiber alternative that doesn't use much water that still retains biological circular properties is Lotus stem fiber, however as we say, there is always more to the story, and stacking up sustainability credentials from one fiber to the next will typically lead you to the answer... "it depends".
Anyhow, I'm of the opinion that the overarching negativity towards cotton may have contributed to the rise of polyester in clothes, which on paper requires next to no water to extract, but most lifecycle reporting will fail to recognize the longer term impacts of using more and more plastic in clothes. It's also just worth noting that polyester and other synthetics currently make up around 75% of the world's fiber market, and much of this is already in landfill or will end up in landfill where it will never biodegrade. Plus, with every wash cycle, thousands of microplastics are released from polyester clothes into waterways where filtration is not fine enough to stop them from entering our oceans and the food chain.
At Whakato, our handspun indigenous organic cotton yarn is a collaboration between farmers and hand spinners strengthening the rights of rurally located women by providing earning opportunities and developing connections with resonant weavers across the globe. This new line of hand-spun yarn represents an emergent solidarity economy that centers on the indigenous culture, our relationship with each other, and the environment. All Whakato, garments are created, at a minimum, to biodegrade safely.
Any thoughts cottoning on? Something we missed?
Reach out at info@whakato.com
Himanshi x