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Organic Cotton

Cotton is the most pesticide intensive crop in the world, accounting for about a quarter of the world’s total pesticide use. It is also very thirsty. Following a drive to make cotton the white gold export for the Soviet Union, cotton plantations in what is now Uzbekistan are now considered a major contributor to the drying up of the Aral Sea, a landlocked sea in Central Asia. Irrigation canals were built to supply the cotton plantations, diverting water that fed into the sea. Half a century later and the Aral Sea is less than half its former size.

It may be up to 50% more expensive but organic cotton uses natural plants to ward of pests and natural fertilisers. The cotton is still thirsty but such practices help the soil hold water better. Of course, your socks still have a long way to fly before reaching you but in switching to organic cotton you are encouraging more sustainable practices in the countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of global warming.