Why organic cotton?  When  I started this business I was committed to providing our customers a values based product.

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Cotton was a natural choice.  However, when we started to do research, we were astonished by the amount of pesticides used on cotton fields.  While conventional cotton growing represents only 3% of worldwide agriculture, it applies a whopping 25% of the total amount of chemical pesticides manufactured on the planet. 

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This pollutes the water, the environment, and kills millions of birds annually.  According to numerous credible scientific and non-governmental sources, as many as 40,000 human deaths, many farmers themselves, are directly linked to toxic agricultural practices.  

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How can we make a difference?  When buying clothing, buy less often by choosing long-lasting quality.  Look for fairly made and traded organic products.  Yes, you will usually find cheaper prices on goods that don't meet these standards, but think about the real costs...to farmers, the environment, other species, labourers, and your health. 

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Organic cotton farming uses non-genetically modified seeds, companion planting, crop rotation, and hand-weeding to grow a pure plant.  The yields are often not as high as with genetically modified conventional cotton, but the soil is not left degradated and dependent on more and more chemical inputs to be purchased.

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Higher prices for farmers can be obtained for organic cotton.  This is very important in parts of the world suffering from pricing controled by huge subsidies in the United States and Europe. 

FOR more information organic cotton and projects in Mali, West Africa please see link coming soon.

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SMArts Segou Inc. is working toward sourcing organic cotton in Mali, with the ultimate goal of having all aspects of production take place there.  At present, our adult shirts are from co-operative organic projects in India, fairly traded and certified by Skal.  Our children's shirts are made in the USA from certified organic cotton.