Why Organic?

Maternity Corner is very proud of the great range of organic cotton items that we have for your baby! Sage Creek Naturals is a Canadian company specializing in organic cotton products and we are pleased to have them as our supplier of organic cotton clothing and accessories.

What is "organic cotton"? Cotton grown organically is not exposed to the harsh processing chemicals normally used in cotton production, that means stronger, purer cotton for you! Chemicals, pesticides and bleach break down the fibers of the cotton making it weaker and less durable. The benefits to the consumer buying organic cotton goods is that the product will last longer and look better longer than commercially grown cotton items -- and it is incredibly soft!

Certified organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build a biologically diverse agriculture. Third-party certification organizations verify that organic producers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production.

Organic Cotton Facts

• In 1997, large apparel companies purchased 2.15 million pounds of organic cotton, which eliminated an estimated 43,000 pounds of pesticides and 485,190 pounds of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. (Organic Fiber Council)
• According to The Sustainable Cotton Project, and Pesticide Action Network North America: Cotton uses about 23 percent of the world's insecticides and more than 10 percent of the world's pesticides.
• In the U.S. it takes about one-third of a pound of chemicals to grow enough cotton for one T-shirt.
• In California, five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are cancer-causing chemicals.
• Cotton is the crop with the third-heaviest pesticide use.
• Dioxin (a by-product of bleaching, cotton defoliating, and starch sizing) was found in residual amounts on T-shirts in 1994 by a researcher.
• In the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 53 million pounds of pesticides and 1.6 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to 11.9 million acres of cotton in 1996.
• In California, where over one million acres of cotton are grown each year, cotton production ranks second for total amount of pesticides used. (Rising Toxic Tide, The Pesticide Action Network)
• In 1995 approximately 250,000 fish were killed in Lawrence, Alabama, when heavy rains washed lethal concentrations of methyl parathion and endosulfan from cotton fields into a 16-mile stretch of a creek that emptied into a nearby lake.

(C. Cox, 1995, Cotton Spraying Kills Fish)