Catherine Schetting Salfino reports that the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) calls cotton โa natural fiber like no other,โ because its use decreases the number of plastics entering the planetโs waterways and helps keep oceans clean. She continues:
Unlike synthetic, petroleum-based textiles like polyester, nylon and acrylic, which produce microplastic pollution and can takeย hundreds of years to decompose, cotton biodegrades quickly, something theย International Cotton Advisory Committeeย (ICAC) points out. ย It calls cotton โa natural fiber like no other,โ one of the reasons being that its use decreases the number of plastics entering the planetโs waterways and helps to keep oceans clean.
World Cotton Day, celebrated in early October, is meant to bothย honor the natural fiberย as well as show its enduring positive impact. ย Cottonโs sustainability factor is just one of the reasons the official theme for World Cotton Day was, โCotton for Good.โ
Sinceย cotton is made of cellulose, an organic compound that is the basis of plant cell walls and vegetable fibers, it biodegrades relatively quickly. This is the caseย in both soil and water. This quick and natural decomposition is vital, considering that every year, U.S. consumers alone discard more than 34 billion pounds of used textiles, according to a study from theย Boston University School of Public Health, and 66 percent of it winds up in landfills.
“A study in the Journal of Hazardous Materialsย found that people on average may ingest from 0.1-to-5 grams of microplasticsย every week. For reference purposes, aย plastic credit cardย weighs about 5 grams. Since its initial publication, an author of the study has stated itโs possible there are people in the world who could be consumingย an even higher number of particles.”
Consider that more than 8 in 10 consumers (83 percent) consider cotton safe for the environment, according to the Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporatedโs 2023 Global Sustainability Study. This compares to 43 percent for rayon, 42 percent for polyester, and 42 percent for nylon.
Aรฉropostale is a brandย that has made use of the Seal, and plans to continue doing so, according to Michael DeLellis, executive vice president of marketing. โAs a leading Gen Z retailer of comfortable, casual clothing,ย cotton is an integral partย of Aรฉropostaleโs success,โ DeLellis says. โOver the past 50 years, the Seal of Cotton has been a symbol of premium quality and durability, which has set the industry standard high and continues to inspire us. We look forward to the next 50 years of the logo we all know and love.โ
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