"In principle, it is possible to produce cycling clothing from organic cotton. This is because organic cotton has many great properties. Organic cotton is tear-resistant, particularly durable, skin-friendly, breathable, and resistant to sweat. This makes organic cotton especially interesting in connection with cycling where a robust material is needed."
Anyone who rides their bike to work every day and relies on a bike jeans made from organic cotton not only arrives well-dressed at the office but also enjoys their pants for a very long time. The skin compatibility and wearing comfort of a T-shirt are undoubtedly excellent. And: organic cotton can be combined with other fibers to optimize the negative properties of the fiber. For example, nylon fibers reinforce the material in the seat area of bike jeans, or Tencel fibers allow it to dry faster. However, it should not go unmentioned that organic cotton has a disadvantage that is bothersome for sporty cyclists: while cotton can absorb a lot of water (65% of its own weight), organic cotton dries extremely poorly. This unfortunately limits its range of use a bit. But we all need a nice T-shirt made of fine cotton and a pair of jeans that accompany us in our daily lives. Therefore, there are naturally one or two products made from organic cotton in the TRIPLE2 collection as well. But what about the sustainability of organic cotton? How do I wash organic cotton? And how is organic cotton produced? We answer these questions on this page.
All FACTs about Organic Cotton
What are the properties of organic cotton? As mentioned above, organic cotton has some great properties for cycling clothing:
✓ particularly durable and hard-wearing
✓ tear and abrasion resistant
✓ very absorbent (can absorb up to 65 percent of its own weight in water)
✓ but dries very slowly
✓ skin-friendly, does not scratch, soft to the touch
✓ low allergy potential
✓ air-permeable and therefore not heat-insulating
✓ insensitive to sweat
✓ more tear-resistant in wet or damp condition than in dry
✓ in combination with other fibers broader range of applications
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How sustainable is organic cotton?
Organic Cotton or Bio Baumwolle is produced without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. In contrast to other labels, the term 'organic' is legally protected for agricultural raw materials used in clothing and textiles. This means that our products made from "Bio Baumwolle" are indeed certified organic. In the production of our organic cotton, the guidelines of organic farming are followed, and we do not use chemical additives in cultivation. The use of chemical pesticides, insecticides, and chemical fertilizers is prohibited. Instead, biological alternatives must be used for pest control as well as for building up the soil and its fertility. Keywords: crop rotation and compost. But what does this mean and why is organic cotton even sensible?
Cotton is currently the most commonly processed natural fiber in the textile industry. Softness, skin-friendliness, and the associated low allergy potential, as well as the versatility of the fiber itself, make it so popular. However, there are also downsides regarding ecological aspects of cotton. Although the fiber itself has a natural basis. It is made of cellulose and decomposes in nature 100%. Thus, unlike synthetic fibers, there is no waste problem.
However, the production of 1kg of conventional cotton requires about 11,000 liters of water. Conventional cotton also grows in huge monocultures. Since the cotton plant grows very slowly, the fields are often replanted immediately after harvest to achieve a higher yield. The soil does not have the time to recover from cotton cultivation.
There are no intercroppings. The result is monocultures that are susceptible to pests and weed infestations and need to be heavily fertilized. For this reason, synthetic pesticides are often used. Just imagine: nearly 25% of the synthetic pesticides applied worldwide are used in cotton agriculture, even though it accounts for only 2.5% of the global arable land.
This overexploitation is also compensated by strong fertilization of the soils. Moreover, genetically modified seeds are used to increase yields – a vicious cycle. The only way to escape this is to produce cotton differently. But how is that done?
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How is organic cotton produced?
In contrast to conventional cultivation, the following rules are observed for organic cotton:
1. Adhere to crop rotations
Different plant species are alternately cultivated on the agricultural land. This means accepting that the arable land does not yield any profit seasonally. At the same time, however, soil fertility is increased and the excessive proliferation of pests in monocultures is avoided.
2. Natural enemies against pests and weeds
Against possible pests, only natural enemies such as plants or insects are used in organic farming, and cotton farmers use manual methods against weeds and pests.
3. Natural Fertilizer
"As in Grandma's garden, only humus (i.e., compost) is used for fertilization by the organic cotton farmers."
4. No defoliants
To harvest the ripe cotton bolls, a further chemical is sprayed on the fields in conventional agriculture: highly toxic defoliants remove the leaves from the plants, allowing for faster mechanical harvesting. Health risks for cotton farmers and harvest workers are accepted in the process. In contrast, with our organic cotton: skilled pickers harvest the ripe bolls by hand. This takes longer, but is gentler on both people and the environment.
5. Reduce water consumption
A major drawback of cotton is its extremely high water consumption. The production of 1 kg of cotton consumes around 11,000 liters of water. This demand can be reduced by up to 40% through drip or furrow irrigation and training of farmers.
6. No toxic additives
During the further processing of cotton into the finished product, the material goes through many additional stages such as knitting and weaving, where colors, oils, and other auxiliary substances are used. In the case of certified organic cotton, these auxiliary substances must meet basic requirements to be classified as harmless in terms of their toxicity and biodegradability.
7. No chlorine bleach
Toxic chlorine bleaches are not allowed. Only oxygen may be used as a bleaching agent.
8. Clean wastewater and regulated disposal
"Production waste and wastewater are also subject to strict regulations. There must be no pollution or poisoning hazards for the environment and water bodies. Strategies and their implementation for minimizing and properly disposing of production waste and wastewater are also mandatory."
Disadvantages of organic cotton.
However, the improvement in cotton cultivation should not disguise the disadvantages: It remains a problem that cotton, whether organic or not, cannot be grown regionally. Currently, the main producers are China, India, the USA, and Pakistan. Therefore, cotton must be transported to Europe either before or after further processing, which always results in CO2 emissions.
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Laundry and care of organic cotton?
Washing, drying, and ironing are true energy guzzlers. 70-80% of the total CO2 footprint of a product comes from these three activities. In Germany, vast amounts of energy, water, and detergent are consumed every year. To be precise:
• 6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity
• 600 tons of detergent
• 330 million cubic meters of water
"And that only while doing the laundry! Shocking, isn't it?"
Therefore, a basic rule: Only wash when necessary, do not use the dryer but hang to dry, and avoid ironing as much as possible. And very important: What does the care label say? Here, the specifics are explained in detail.
In general, we recommend proceeding as follows for organic cotton:
✓ Turn inside out before washing
✓ Wash only with similar colors
✓ Lower temperature: Slightly soiled laundry will also be clean at low temperatures. Usually already at 30°C to 40°C.
✓ Use ecological detergent, preferably no fabric softener.
✓ Pre-wash? Nobody really needs that.
✓ Fill it up: Machines have a proper capacity. Many modern machines can easily hold 6-8kg. You should make full use of that!
✓ Dryer? Better to dry in the fresh air! Then your product won't shrink so quickly!
✓ Save laundry: Many garments can be worn multiple times. Therefore, it's better to air them out overnight in between.
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