Conventional cotton has a serious chemical dependancy problem. It's pretty much the pesticide fiend of fabrics. These are the facts: high-yield cotton farming, worldwide, uses about $2.6 billion worth of pesticides a year. 35% of that is used in the U.S. It’s harmful to humans, killing 20,000 a year; and, it's harmful to wildlife, contaminating water supplies and killing native species.

The earth friendly alternative to pesticide reliant conventional cotton is sustainable, organic cotton. It's healthier for the environment and the people that tend the crops. Organic cotton is grown using agricultural methods like crop rotation that nurture the soil and keep it happy and fertile. And, instead of relying on the lab, organic cotton farming employs nature, introducing beneficial insects that naturally feed on pests. Instead of spraying weeds, they're removed by machine and by hand. The Sustainable Cotton Project is the place to go for the latest info on organic cotton. TreeHugger is another good place to read more about how it's done and who's doing it.

Eco-Tobi brands using organic cotton:

Here's a great vid on organic cotton from one of our favorite Eco-Tobi designers, Tierra Del Forte, designer of Del Forte. Tierra has been using organic cotton from day one and is really one of the first to commit 100% to using it for her entire collection. (At 2:00 turn your volume down or take your headphones off, it gets loud by 2:04 when they let you listen to the machinery working!)