Our skin is the largest absorptive organ in the human body (think how effective nicotine and hormone patches are) and baby’s skin is 5 times thinner than adults. Consider all the lotions and potions you put on your and your family’s skin everyday, read the labels, they’re frightening – what are all those chemicals?

And importantly what are they doing to your
family’s long-term health?
Choosing organic means limiting your exposure
to harmful chemicals (The Environmental
Protection Agency considers seven of the
top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 in
the United States as “possible,” “likely,”
“probable,” or “known” human
carcinogens (EPA))

Organic products meet stringent standards -
Organic certification is the public’s assurance
that products have been grown and handled
according to strict procedures without
persistent toxic chemical inputs.

Choosing organic is not only good for our health
but also for the health of the environment.
Organic farming is a more natural way of working, using techniques that respect and replenish the environment. Without the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides the soil is enriched, waterways are clean and unpolluted and wildlife can thrive. Also, Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy, it can be a lifeline for small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers can command fair prices for crops.

While we know that food crops are sprayed with chemicals we often don’t think about other crops such as cotton. Cotton is in fact the most sprayed crop in the world and uses approximately 25% of the world’s insecticides and more than 10% of the pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants) (Allan Woodburn). Concerned about the rise of GM cotton crops in Australia?

Organic cotton contains no cotton from genetically modified crops.

Fair-trade is about better prices, decent
working conditions, local sustainability, and
fair terms of trade for farmers and workers
in the developing world. By requiring
companies to pay above market prices,
Fair-trade addresses the injustices of
conventional trade, which traditionally
discriminates against the poorest, weakest
producers. It enables them to improve their
lot and have more control over their lives.

(Source www.fairtrade.org.uk)

Sources

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, “List of Chemicals Evaluated for Carcinogenic Potential,” 2001.
Allen Woodburn Associates Ltd./Managing Resources Ltd., “Cotton: The Crop and its Agrochemicals Market,”1995.
U. S. Department of Agriculture, “Agricultural Chemical Usage: 2000 Field Crop Summary,” 2001.