First global organic cotton campaign

The first global organic cotton campaign was launched by the Soil Association and GOTS on 4 October 2012. The new Organic Cotton Initiative will set the record straight – communicating to both brands and consumers how organic production and processing offers the highest standards and the most reliable, trustworthy system for advocates of sustainability. The initiative is detailed in a briefing paper, which spells out five unique benefits organic production offers:
 

1. Give control to farmers, not GM companies: Organic farmers don't have their choices controlled by GM companies

2. Eliminate hazardous synthetic pesticides: Organic cotton doesn’t use dangerous pesticides, protecting farmers’ lives and the environment

3. Help farmers feed their families: Organic cotton enables farmers to grow other crops for food and income

4. Save precious water: Organic cotton uses less water, preserving a scarce and precious resource for the future

5. Combat climate change: Organic cotton farming uses less energy and healthy organic soils store more CO2.

"Organic cotton is proven to deliver positive benefits for people and the environment. When it comes to making sustainability claims you can trust, nothing beats it," Lord Peter Melchett, Policy Director, Soil Association, states. “Consumers can be sure that a product carrying the GOTS symbol is not only produced with a minimum of 95 % organic fibre content but is also processed to strict environmental and social criteria,” Claudia Kersten, GOTS Marketing Director, added. More information on the campaign is available here: http://www.cottonedon.org/