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Cleaner
Cotton
Campaign
A Cleaner Approach
Integrating
Cleaner Cotton™ into
Product
Lines
Why
Cleaner
Cotton™
Resources
|
WHY CLEANER COTTON™?
• Provides high quality Pima and Acala cotton fiber
• Supports family farmers and rural economies in California
• Documents conversion from chemically intensive farming to reduced-risk practices
• that rely on biological systems to control pests
• Documents the volume of chemicals that Cleaner Cotton™ products reduce
• Reduces or eliminates the use of the most toxic chemicals used in cotton
• Provides a mainstream approach to cleaning up cotton in California
• Enhances the environmental goals of any existing organic cotton program
• Grows a consistent number of acres each season, ensuring a steady and scalable
• supply of Cleaner Cotton™ fiber
• Uses non-GM seed, which ensures that market demand for non-GM seed exists in the future
• Builds the emotional value of your brand
• Promotes a model that can be used to reduce chemical use in other cotton growing
• regions and on other crops
• Can serve as a stepping-stone for growers transitioning to organic practices
California Cotton Comparison2
| CONVENTIONAL |
BASIC |
TRANSITIONAL |
ORGANIC |
| 61% of California cotton is GM |
Non-GM |
Non-GM |
Non-GM |
Chemically
Based System |
Biologically
Based System |
Biologically
Based System
|
Biologically
Based System |
| Averages 2.1 pounds of chemicals per acre3 |
Averages 1.1 pounds of chemicals per acre4 andeliminates the top 10 most toxic |
Same as organic |
Only chemicals approved for use in organic systems |
| Yields 2.5 bales an acre or 1,250 pounds5 |
Yields 2.8 bales an acre or 1,400 pounds |
Same as organic |
Yields 1.85 Bales an acre or 925 pounds6 |
| Uses an average of 2.5 acre feet of water per year7 |
Uses an average of 2.5 acre feet of water per year |
Uses an average of 2.25 acre feet of water per year |
Uses an average of 2.25 acre feet of water per year8 |
Water use per pound of cotton:
0.002 AF |
Water use per pound of cotton:
0.0017 AF |
Same as organic |
Water use per pound of cotton:
0.0024 AF |
2 These statistics are for typical growing systems, soil, and climate conditions in California’s San 3 Joaquin Valley.
3 California Pesticide Use Reporting Data: 2002, 2003, and 2006.
4 California Pesticide Use Reporting Data: 2002, 2003, and 2006.
5 Klonsly et al., Production Practices and Sample Costs for Organic Cotton, Northern San Joaquin 3 Valley. UC Cooperative Extension: 1995
6 Klonsly et al., Production Practices and Sample Costs for Organic Cotton, Northern San Joaquin 3 Valley. UC Cooperative Extension: 1995
7 Klonsky et al., Sample Costs to Produce Cotton. UC Cooperative Extension: 1999
8 Klonsly et al., Production Practices and Sample Costs for Organic Cotton, Northern San Joaquin 3 Valley. UC Cooperative Extension: 1995
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