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8 popular companies like Nike and Patagonia that are committed to reducing environmental harm by using organic cotton
8 popular companies like Nike and Patagonia that are committed to reducing environmental harm by using organic cotton
Mara LeightonJan 8, 2019, 21:50 IST
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If you wear cotton clothes - and since approximately half of all textiles are cotton, odds are you do - you should be opting for organic cotton when and if you can.
Why? Because organic cotton is an important win-win-win: better for you, better for the environment, and better for the people that make the sheets you sleep on and the T-shirts you wear. It doesn't utilize pesticides or other harmful chemicals, requires far less water to produce, and organic growing systems often help maintain soil fertility and encourage biologically diverse agriculture - replacing systems that typically heavily exhaust and degrade the soil. Ultimately, it helps remove concerns about trace carcinogens in your clothes and supply chain, conserves energy, provides safer and more sustainable livelihoods, and preserves the environment - all without changing the quality of said sheets and T-shirts.
If your roadblock to buying organic cotton is not knowing where to find it, check out eight of the leading options below. Many are GOTS-certified or highlighted by the Textile Exchange - a global non-profit that works to drive sustainable change in the industry - as companies either already at a 100% organic cotton supply chain or making valuable strides towards one.
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Find 8 leading retail companies using organic cotton in their supply chain in 2019:
Colored Organics is the one-stop-shop for 100% organic cotton clothes for kids. Colored Organics only uses GOTS-certified organic cotton. Objectively adorable baby onesies and toddler shirts are soft, naturally hypoallergenic, and made safe for kids — with the less tangible feature of not contributing to any environmental damage they may have to contend with in their future.
Plus, every purchase for your child helps a child in need. Colored Organics partners with global and domestic organizations to improve the lives of children. Past partners include a local hospital, Baby2Baby, Every Mother Counts, and Angel House — an Indian orphanage built with a portion of Colored Organics' 2017 sales.
They're also known for offering 20% off first orders.
Patagonia is highlighted as one of four leading Textile Exchange members in the industry, and rightly so. It's ranked as one of the top performers in two categories: overall and outdoor gear. Patagonia uses 100% organic cotton for many of its styles, and it was noted as the number 10 fastest-moving company in phasing in more sustainable synthetics in other categories (their recycled cashmere comes to mind).
Recently, luxury bedding company Boll & Branch was named the world's largest consumer of Organic Fair Trade Certified cotton by the Textile Exchange, ahead of longstanding companies like Patagonia and Nike — the latter of which has been working for decades to move to 100% organic cotton by 2020.
Five-year-old Boll & Branch has prioritized an ethical, chemical-free supply chain from its inception; In a 2018 press release, co-founder Scott Tannen said that "Before selling a single product, we spent a year and a half ensuring we built out a transparent and ethical supply chain."
In 2016, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. became the first large GOTS-certified home retailer in North America. In the same year, the company signed onto the Better Cotton Initiative to cultivate more sustainable cotton and was ranked nine in organic cotton and six in recycled polyester and lyocell usage by the Textile Exchange. The company has committed to using 100% responsibly-sourced cotton by 2021, and has introduced cotton alternatives (think: recycled fibers) in order to achieve their goal. Many of their products have been tested for harmful substances — even if not already legally regulated — and are certified with Oeko-Tex Standard 100.
Pact is your new go-to store for 100% certified organic cotton essentials made in Fair Trade Certified factories. The Colorado-based company is a B-Corp and delivers on unbelievably soft, relatively inexpensive layers for everything from underwear to apparel. No toxic dyes, pesticides, or low wages included. Plus, they're known for offering 20% off your first order. They also happen to make a perfect black wrap dress for under $45, something I've called in the past one of my wardrobe's best-kept secrets.
They're ranked by the Textile Exchange as the number five company consuming the highest volume of organic cotton in 2018.
Coyuchi may likely be your first stop for beautiful and organic home goods. The San Francisco line uses only organic cotton and other natural fibers, sourcing materials carefully and processing them minimally. Designs are modern, luxe, and the premium usually solicits a relatively high price tag.
Coyuchi became the first North American company to use miDori bioSoft green technology — softening its sheets with a plant-based formula that eliminates the need for harsh chemicals. It's also certified by GOTS, Fair Trade, and USDA. It's typically celebrated as a top-performer in Textile Exchange reports for home goods.
The Textile Exchange ranked adidas AG as number six overall in companies closing the gap between conventional and preferred (more sustainable) fibers in their portfolio in 2018.
It's also one of the 13 most renowned clothing and textile companies to commit to the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge, a campaign designed to move the textile industry closer to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As the name suggests, participants have committed to using 100% sustainable cotton by the year 2025. (Other participating heavy-hitters include Timberland, Nike, Levi's, and ASOS).
Adidas is also one of the founding members of the Better Cotton Initiative, which aims to reduce pesticides, promote efficient water usage, crop rotation, and fair working conditions in cotton production. this doesn't mean it's completely organic, but it's a step in the right direction. In 2017, 93% of the cotton used globally was Better Cotton.
Nike is consistently one of the top five buyers of organic cotton in the industry (ranked number five in 2018 by the Textile Exchange).
After learning that more than half of Nike's water footprint came from cotton farming, the company committed to using 100% sustainable cotton by 2020 (though this doesn't mean entirely organic).
The company's site states that, as of now, over 55% of Nike's cotton is certified organic, recycled or Better Cotton— which saved an estimated 25 billion liters of water and over 92 thousand kilograms of pesticides from the supply chain in the year prior.
