In fact, while cotton only makes up 3% of the total farmed land area, it accounts for 25% of the insecticides and 10% of the pesticides used worldwide, making it one of the most chemically treated crops. Because of these troubling statistics I decided to purchase organic baby clothes to do our part to reduce the amount of pesticides used, but also to help protect our baby’s delicate skin.

There are dozens of pesticides used on cotton crops and about half of them have been named as possible or probably carcinogens by the EPA.

Environmental impact

Startlingly, only about 10% of the pesticides used on cotton crops are thought to actually accomplish their job and the rest ends up in the air and water supply. The EPA estimates that up to 2 million birds may be killed annually from just one of the insecticides used on cotton.

Thankfully, most pesticide residue is removed from cotton during processing, but small amounts remain and the environmental impact is still tremendous.