Great topic. I’m sure I’ll think of more along the way but not within 24hours :)
Maybe this belief is shared by others: Until recently I always thought GOTS cotton is also a social standard, which made me think that issues such as child labor at cotton cultivation are checked. However to my knowledge GOTS cotton actually does not check social criteria at cotton cultivation level. It simply accepts the organic standards accepted by IFOAM. Only after at ginning level are social criteria audited. To me the complete reliance of GOTS on the IFOAM criteria is not transparently communicated and I can imagine consumers being mislead by this. Thinking that GOTS/organic cotton is better in all aspects than conventional cotton.
Hi Lavinia and Tanitha,
claims and truisms I would love to see being debunked or contextualized are for example:
- „the fashion industry has the second heaviest footprint of all industries“
- „polyester is more sustainable than cotton because it has a lower CO2 footprint“
- „wool is bad for the environment because of methane emissions from the sheep“
- „clothes that go to charity help people in poorer countries“
- „Tencel (Lyocell) is a natural fibre“ (and usually this claim is accompanied by images of trees and leaves)
- „clothes from natural fibres are circular because they are biodegradable“
- „degrowth would put a lot of people out of jobs and into poverty, especially in the fast fashion sector“
Looking forward to your next issues of The Crisps 💌
Great topic. I’m sure I’ll think of more along the way but not within 24hours :)
Maybe this belief is shared by others: Until recently I always thought GOTS cotton is also a social standard, which made me think that issues such as child labor at cotton cultivation are checked. However to my knowledge GOTS cotton actually does not check social criteria at cotton cultivation level. It simply accepts the organic standards accepted by IFOAM. Only after at ginning level are social criteria audited. To me the complete reliance of GOTS on the IFOAM criteria is not transparently communicated and I can imagine consumers being mislead by this. Thinking that GOTS/organic cotton is better in all aspects than conventional cotton.