Come summers and the market gets flooded with cotton apparels. When the scorching heat of summers make sweating inevitable, there is nothing better and more relief giving than a light cotton shirt that absorbs all the sweat and leaves you feeling cool. Cotton in fact is the most used natural fiber across the world. Primarily used for making clothes, its different parts are used for a variety of other purposes like production of food, plastic and paper products. Cotton in short, is the store house of benefits and is cheap in cost. Thus an economic choice for clothing. In my article I will tell you why switching to cotton fabric is also the greenest way of clothing.
You must have seen these white, tuffy feather like substances flying in the air in summers and sometimes the entire ground covered with it. These are the small, pure capsules of cotton which are further manufactured into apparels. Once the crops are harvested, these capsules go throw the cotton ginning process in which the cotton fiber is separated from the seeds. These fibers are then spun into a fine strand which is then woven into cotton fabric. Thus this is a naturally produced fiber with least use of chemicals. Less use of chemicals and toxics is obviously a favor to our already burdened environment. Cotton is a fabric which is environment friendly. Cotton fabric is extremely comfortable and breathable, it is deeply absorbent and keeps moisture away from the body. It is advisable to wear cotton clothes during work outs, for it keeps our body free of liquid and keeps us dry and comfortable. According to the international forum of cotton, this fiber can take up five times its weight amount of liquid before feeling damp, therefore best for summers when you sweat a lot. Apart from that cotton also has this wonderful quality of thermal insulation. This means that it protects us from heat in the summers and cold in the winters thus proving to be not only a comfortable clothing but safe too. It is adjustable to any sort of weather. This also means that it is worn by people across the globe. No matter what country, what weather you are form, cotton will always work for you! Perhaps now you believe why I said that it the most popular fiber in the world.
Have you got a sensitive skin? Does any synthetic cloth you wear end up giving you rashes? Do you have the kind of skin that every season brings with itself a new pool of skin ailments for you? If yes, then cotton is the fiber for you. This is because synthetic fiber due to the reason that petrochemical fiber suffocates the skin due to its toxic releases adding to the toxic burden in the body. Synthetic clothes also have a very harmful effect on the skin because, it does not allow the skin to breathe thus leading to increased perspiration. This further leads to breeding of germs on our skin inviting problems like acne and skin rashes. Cotton as talked above has minimal content of any sort of chemicals and is thus safe to be used by people with extremely sensitive skin, it causes no skin problems. Also, since cotton is hypoallergenic and does not irritate skin, it is widely used in medical products like bandages and gauge. It is also the best of choice when it comes to baby clothing for its plethora of benefits. It is easier on skin and healthier on body.
Now those were the benefits to those who buy and wear cotton clothes. Let us now show a little concern to those who make it. Since there are no toxic chemicals, carcinogens and toxic gases used, it is not only good for the consumers but for those who make it too. Yes, we might want to turn a blind eye to it but the toxic materials used for the production of the synthetic fiber are exceptionally harmful to the workers. The toxics make the factory environment polluted and thus responsible for a lot of breathing diseases that the factory workers get exposed to. Since, these workers due to their poor economic status can’t afford proper medical diagnosis and treatment, there has been a lot of repots of death due to the same reason. Beside this, these chemicals because used directly without much safety are very dangerous to the workers. They might not only lead to permanent damage to any of their body parts but can also be life threatening. Now that the world is becoming strikingly aware and is recognizing the value of individual human rights, we have seen a fall in the use of these toxic chemicals in the factories in some of the countries. This has automatically led to a rise in cotton clothing across the globe. And it continues to rise by many folds each year.
That was about humans and the benefits to them. What about the environment? Any added benefit to the nature too? Yes, of course! We all know that synthetic fiber takes a lot of time to decompose. Ever tried to apply that in real life? We tend to ignore this fact that the synthetic clothes we are so hell-bent putting on has a terrible environmental consequence. These fibers take a lot of years to decompose. They might even take hundreds of years to break down. Apart from that we also need to know that most of these synthetic clothes are mostly formed from the fossil fuels, therefore further adding the burden on the already fragile condition of our environment.
Cotton clothes are economical and thus it puts no burden on your pockets. It also a strong fabric with a high tensile strength and in very durable. In fact, it is about 30% stronger when wet and hence, withstands vigorous washing without any wear or tear. It is soft and stretchable, thus is a perfect fabric for underwear and undershirts. Cotton can also be used to make excellent water repellent garments though a little finishing and construction without the cloth losing its softness and breathability. What else can you demand from a fiber which so economical and easily accessible? So, give up your mind on synthetic now and become loyal to cotton forever.
