Not Eco-Friendly Fabric

Cotton and Cashmere are two well-known clothing fabrics. Cotton is the most popular fabric with positive attributes such as soft, breathable, and affordable price. Cashmere is known as diamond fiber for its super softness, comfort, and pricy. Both are natural fibers which are clearly seen as being more environmentally friendly. How green are they? The following facts and incredible numbers make you feel what is behind the scene.

Cotton
The traditional cotton consumes approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the pesticides. Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop. In addition to those applied chemicals, much water is necessary for the irrigation and these chemicals are easily infiltrated the soil and water. Even more, seven of the top 15 pesticides used on US cotton crops are listed by the EPA as potential or known human carcinogens. When you have an irritated skin, have you ever thought about the chemicals on your skin?

Cashmere
Most of people know a lot of super features in cashmere, such as supreme soft and warm. Few people have an idea on the serious environment effect from cashmere production.
Before further discussion, cashmere production primer is summarized with courtesy of U.N. Environment Program from Asian Development Bank. Cashmere is combed each spring from the beneath the coarse outer hair of the goat. It takes 2 – 3 animals to produce a sweater, twice that for a sport coat. About 70% of cashmere is produced a year in China. The main production area is in Alashan Plateau near Mongolian border. The number of goats soared from 2.4 million in 1949 to 25.8 million in 2004 which turn China's grasslands, the world's third-largest, into desserts. The desert expanded by an area larger than Netherland within 5 years from 1994-99. A 1998 sand storm that began in China and Mongolia caused air pollution warnings in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and British Columbia. With the US high demand, the over-herding not only changed a pricy Cashmere look into an affordable Wal-Mart sweater but also turned the grassland into the desert. Now China realizes the environment effect from the cashmere manufacture so the relevant agricultural policies are set up to regulate the production. Another factor for the environment damage is the goats themselves. Unlike common grass or plant eaters, they are expert forager. They graze down to the lower level and pull up the root to eat. It also happens to the seedlings that the goats nibble at the bark which transports nutrients to the trees. So once the bark is damaged, the trees will die.

Clothing is not just for wearing when you have some worthy knowledge. The other eco-friendly fabric is worth of being paid more attention, such as silk, organic cotton.