COTTON PRODUCTION AND CULTIVATION, WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF RAW COTTON CULTIVATION?

Cotton as a raw material for clothes and jeans. How is cotton produced and grown and, what does cotton cultivation cause? Cotton, as a raw material and clothing fibre, is superior because cotton has impossibly good properties.

Cotton is a very versatile material for its use. As fibre, cotton is used in vans and as a filling. Cotton is used as yarn in jeans, knitwear, sewing yarn, fishing yarn and fabrics in clothing and décor.

The popularity of cotton fibre is not subsiding, although there are many opinions on cotton responsibility. Cotton is a valuable fiber that is worth treating well. When well maintained, cotton lasts a long time, even years.

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Read more: Wash your jeans correctly - 10 instructions for washing jeans, cotton, laundry and increasing longevity.

 

Polyester is the most produced fiber, the second is cotton. In 2017, world fibre production totalled EUR 95 million. Tons. Of this, polyester amounted to EUR 54 million. tonnes and cotton EUR 25 million Tons. Half of the world's cotton is produced in India (27%) and China (23%). Also the United States (12%) and Pakistan (9%) are major cotton producers. Organic cotton accounts for approximately 0.5% of all cotton produced. Cotton is often grown on small family farms.

 

WHAT DOES COTTON CULTIVATION REQUIRE AND WHAT DOES COTTON CULTIVATION DO?

Cotton cultivation requires a constant temperature, high humidity and intense sunshine. Weather conditions affect the quality of the cotton crop and the price of the raw material on the cotton market. Market prices are throwing wildly and on the cotton exchange market prices are being pushed so low that cotton farmers in developing countries are having difficulty supporting themselves. The plight of debtor farmers can drive them to suicide, it is a way for them to get rid of debts.

Cotton cultivation uses a lot of irrigation water. It will increase nutrient emissions from fields to watercourses. When one cotton variety is intensively cultivated, the soil is impoverished. Watering cotton plantations also causes drying of water bodies and salting of the soil.

The cotton plant is also very susceptible to pests. In the cultivation of ordinary cotton, very large amounts of fertilizers, chemicals and pests are used, most of which are really harmful. Toxins and chemicals are used, for example, to prevent weeds and insects. Animals also suffer greatly, as poisons used in cotton plantations kill millions of birds and fish every year, for example.

In addition, most of the seeds used in cotton cultivation are genetically engineered. Cotton seeds are usually treated with insecticides, for example. In India, for example, about 95% of the cotton seeds used are genetically engineered. The use of genetically modified cotton seeds is prohibited in the cultivation of organic cotton.

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HOW COTTON IS PROCESSED FROM THE FIELD INTO RAW COTTON AND COTTON PRODUCTS The fibre crop of cotton is harvested when the seed huts have opened and the seed hair, i.e. cotton

fibres, has penetrated out. The leaves of cotton snans are dropped with the help of chemicals so that the crop can be harvested mechanically. With smaller cotton plantations, the cotton crop is harvested by hand, which today can still be unprofitable. Hand harvesting of cotton is heavy and pickers can be exposed to pesticides. Cotton pickers are usually women and children. Part of the school may be closed for the harvest so that children can help harvest the cotton crop.

After harvesting cotton begins cotton drying, cleaning, trapping (separation), classification and baling. Baled cotton is raw cotton, which is traded. The main classification criteria are purity, colour, fiber content and degree of maturity. The price of cotton is influenced by quality.

"Textiles made of cheap cotton are naturally cheaper than a product made of high-quality cotton."

 

Read more: The price of responsible fashion vs the price of fast fashion As

 

by-products, cotton produces, for example, cotton, cellulose raw material, cotton oil and animal feed. Cotton oil is abundantly used in the industrial processing of food. More familiarly, it can be found in mayonnaise, for example. Seeds separated at the stage of cotton purification (genetically modified) are sold to livestock as food, especially dairy cows. For the next harvest, the seeds must always be re-purchased due to genetic manipulation.

Read more: How do you make jeans out of cotton?