Information on organic cotton

General information on cotton

For millennia, cotton has been in used for textiles. It is by far the most important raw material in the textile industry; cotton is also called "the white gold".
The material is highly absorbent, ideal for garments that are worn on your skin such as underwear, nightwear, bathrobes, leisure suits and baby rompers. Cotton regulates the body temperature and does not irritate the skin or cause allergies. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for babies and toddlers, as well as for people with very sensitive skin.

Cotton cultivation

Cotton cannot be planted in every region. During the germination and growth period, the cotton plants need a temperature of at least 15 degrees Celsius; and about 150 to 180 days per year must be free of frost.
Nowadays, the main areas for cotton cultivation are China, India, Pakistan and the CIS states.

Why has organic clothing such a soft texture?

This fact is a result of the mild harvesting method used in organic clothing manufacture.
In conventional cotton farming, the cotton is often mechanically harvested. For this purpose, defoliants are sprayed onto the cotton plants in order to remove their leaves. Afterwards, the remaining buds are collected by a combine harvester. However, this machine is picking any bud, regardless of its ripeness or quality.

In contrast, in organic farming, cotton buds are collected by hand and no chemicals are needed in this method. Farmers / workers can control the quality of the buds while picking and thus only use proper, ripe buds.
For this reason, clothing made of organic cotton is so soft and pleasant to wear on your skin.

Naturally colored cotton

In the past, cotton used to grow in many different natural colors. Nowadays, most of these plant species are extinct. There is, however, cotton in green and brown shades in addition to the natural white cotton.
At fairtragen the natural color cotton is found mainly in children's clothing. Naturally colored cotton has the advantage that the color cannot be washed out. In fact, the colors tend to become even stronger by washing.