Green Cotton

Zooey Deschanel, star of the just-released film 500 Days of Summer, is the latest in a slew of celebrities to lend her voice to ad campaigns for Cotton Inc. The actress and chanteuse brings her trademark quirkiness to a commercial that showcases her own take on “The Fabric of Our Lives” jingle.

Deschanel is known for her eclectic, vintage-inspired fashion sense, which the Cotton ad cheerfully harnesses, seemingly to lend this cooperate conglomerate a little indie-cred. What’s troubling here is that cotton, often touted as “natural,” is produced with more harmful chemical pesticides than any other crop (see our recent post on organic cotton certification, and learn more at Organature.com). Having a lovely songstress chirp an upbeat jingle about it detracts from a major environmental issue. When Deschanel warbles “The fabric of our lives,” the appropriate enjoinder would be, “it’s full of pesticides.”

But Cotton Inc. is no stranger to green-washing: see their “Give Us Green…But Make it Fashionable” summer 2008 ad campaign. These ads featured phrases like, “When it’s cotton, you’ll know it’s green (even if it’s pink)” and “Cotton. Style that comes naturally.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

From CottonInc.com: “Through our research, we’ve discovered that the same consumer who’s concerned with the state of the environment also places an even higher priority on fashion when purchasing,” states Ric Hendee, vice president, marketing services, at Cotton Incorporated. “We’ve developed these three new ads to convey that cotton has always been and continues to be the natural choice for fashionable, eco-friendly clothing.”

Now, Deschanel is not the only celebrity currently shilling for Cotton—country singer Miranda Lambert and R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan are also featured on TheFabricofOurLives.com. But Deschanel stands out from the pack due to her unique style and lifestyle choices. The actress dabbles in veganism (she recently issued an all vegan, gluten- and soy-free challenge to the cooks on Top Chef!), and animal-loving vegans tend to be environmentalists by default. Eating vegetarian is one of the easiest ways to go green, as it helps cut down on resources used to feed the rest of the world. It makes sense, then, that vegans also tend to care about issues like global warming and using eco-friendly textiles.

When it comes to clothing choices, however, veganism and environmentalism aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Vegans reject animal products in general, so that includes wool, silk and leather; fans of eco-fashion might tout some of these fabrics as earthy and natural, while a vegan is more likely to purchase a handbag or shoe made out of harmful PVC (polyvinyl chloride). We’ve discussed the growing vegan fashion trend here at Green Cotton before, and it’s a debate that needs more information exchanged on both sides of the issue. So just because Ms. Deschanel chooses to eat vegan does not mean she will always choose organic fabrics (even if the Cotton campaign leads us to believe that cotton was “green before it was even in style.”).

I’m not intentionally picking on Zooey Deschanel, because that would be hypocritical. Not everyone can afford to buy organic fashions, since natural fibers cost far more than conventional ones. As someone with many allergies and chemical sensitivities, I admit that 90% of my wardrobe is cotton; it has to be. But the conventional kind isn’t necessarily doing me and my sensitive skin any favors. I own a few organic garments and hope to collect more; I do try to offset my carbon footprint by shopping in vintage and thrift stores when I can. And someone like Zooey Deschanel is a major fashion inspiration who can afford to shop where and how she wants, and makes the perfect spokeswoman for vintage fashion. Imagine if she lent her voice to a campaign for authentically organic cotton? I look forward to seeing how Deschanel’s career unfolds, and hope that her future choices only positively impact the growing eco-fashion world.

Photosource: thefabricofourlives.com

Other sources used for this post:

Understanding GOTS organic cotton certification

Ecorazzi

Post By Erin Dale

The Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan happens to be the second largest exporter of cotton in the world. One third (1/3) of its population works in the billion dollar industry, and a large majority of those individuals are children. In addition to concern over children’s rights, the situation presents an emerging environmental crisis tied to irrigation and natural resource management. With an over-reliance on dangerous pesticides and economic dependence on cotton, the country is in a difficult position. Yet, Uzbekistan is not solely at fault. Western companies are also complicit by negotiating business with industry officials and consistently purchasing product. Similarly, Western consumers (e.g. Americans and Europeans) reinforce the situation by continuing to purchase Uzbek-grown cotton and demanding price-quality paradigms at such a high human and environmental cost.

How do we navigate ourselves out of such complex socio-eco-nomic mess?

Here are some three simple steps that we as consumers can do to make a difference:

1) Ask your retailer where your cotton has been sourced. If they don’t know, chances are some or all came from Uzbekistan, or some other country where human rights or environmental abuses are part of the production equation. There are plenty of fair trade, organic options out there, seek them out, buy them and promote them to others.

2) Be wary of inexpensive product. If something is cheap, it is probably too good to be true. Cotton is one of the most expensive, labor, pesticide and water intensive crops to grow in the world. It is associated with huge environmental and human costs. If the end product is very inexpensive, chances are someone or something (e.g. natural resources) is paying the real price. Think before you shop. You can start to change the world through your purchases.

3) Buy green, buy organic and buy fair trade. When laborers and craftsmen are given a fair, living wages, the end product will reflect this cost. In addition, when fabrics are organically grown without harmful pesticides, they can be more expensive to maintain and grow. As conscientious consumers, we need to be willing to assume some of this cost. It’s the best way to drive the market toward greater sustainability and equitability. If enough demand existed, even Uzbekistan would move toward organic crops and higher wage production. The market is more powerful than one might think.

Finally, I encourage you to watch this short video directed, produced and supported by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF):

White Gold: The True Cost of Cotton. It is truly enlightening.

www.ejfoundation.org/page85.html

Credits: the Title of this blog was inspired by the above video. Thank you, EJF!

Photo source: The Environmental Justice Foundation

Save This Page to Del.icio.us