How much would you pay for a plain t-shirt? Many took to the internet to complain after Jay-Z launched a clothing line at Barney’s which featured a plain white t-shirt for $70. (Complaints also were heavily focused on the store’s unacceptable racial profiling in October) Another shirt from his collection sold for $995. People found the prices to be completely unreasonable for one shirt.
Yet many t-shirts made with organic cotton sell for similar prices. Why is this? Organic means that the plants that are harvested are not genetically modified and that cotton is farmed without pesticides. These pesticides can cause serious health problems, but without them, weeds must be removed by manual labor or other means. Labor is usually the most costly aspect of production. The varying length of the harvested fibers also means that a significant portion of the cotton cannot be used, driving up the costs even more. Additionally, organically produced cotton must meet narrower regulations that guide all of the steps of production, so farming tends to be on a smaller scale and the process is often more labor- and management-intensive. The organic cotton market is growing, mainly driven by an increase in textile and apparel companies that incorporate organic cotton into their production.
Some, like Diana Carvey argue that we should not be scared off by high prices, and instead should spend more on sustainable items and consume fewer cheaply produced cotton items. Many cannot afford to implement this, however. For those looking for less expensive sustainable clothes, companies that produce mass quantities of organic apparel, like American Apparel are able to produce cheaper organic clothing.
An interesting point to note is that organic does not always mean perfectly sustainable. Conventional farming practices means that more products can be produced from the same amount of land at a much faster rate. However, the reason that the conventional crops grow faster is largely due to nitrogen usage for pesticides. The pesticides usually end up running off into the soil and water sources, severely polluting them.
Do you own clothing made with organic cotton? Do you think that it’s worth the price?
Written by Leslie Wolf, Class of 2015
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thanks for sharing such a nice information.
I think Organic Clothes is worth the price since health is wealth and that cannot be compromised at any cost.