Subject: NEWS: Organic Cotton: A Growing Future
Date: 10 Jul 92 03:51:38 GMT

[Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely]

                ORGANIC COTTON: A GROWING FUTURE
 Greenpeace Urges Textile Industry's Switch to Clean Production

VISALIA, California, March 10, 1992 (GP) Cotton growers and
the clothing and textile industry must convert to organic cotton
-- not only to eliminate dangerous pesticides, but also to meet
the growing demand of consumers for more environmentally sound
products, Greenpeace says.

     On March 11, environmentalists will join farmers,
manufacturers, agricultural scientists and health experts at the
First Transitional Organic Cotton Conference in Visalia, Calif.
With participants drawn from all over the United States, Europe
and Australia, this is the first international conference to
address consumer concerns for cleaner cotton -- and how growers
can meet the challenge.

     Greenpeace, an international environmental organization with
offices in 27 countries and more than 5 million members, has made
a commitment to offer only organic cotton in its merchandise as
soon as the market can provide adequate supplies. At the Organic
Cotton Conference, Greenpeace will outline the principles of
clean production and their implications for the textile industry.

     "Preservation of the environment and the health of our
communities must be the most important factor in cotton
production -- from seed to shirt," said Lisa J. Bunin, a
Greenpeace Toxics Campaign policy advisor who will address the
conference Wednesday.

      "Clean production is non-polluting, it conserves
energy and materials, and it meets the consumer's demand for non-
toxic products. Because of the United States' growing conditions,
scientific expertise and strong environmental market, U.S.
farmers are uniquely positioned to supply a growing worldwide
market for organic cotton."

     In the United States, 25 percent of all insecticides are
used on cotton alone, and in many developing countries, over half
of all pesticides used are applied to cotton. Among the dangerous
pesticides widely used is the deadly poison paraquat, which is
sprayed on cotton as a defoliant.

     The widespread use of defoliants in California's Central
Valley agricultural region has been linked to health problems,
including respiratory ailments.

     Cotton is grown primarily as a fiber, not as a food. But in
fact, cotton seed, which represents about two-thirds of the crop
by weight, is widely used as animal feed and to make cooking
oils. The intensive spraying of pesticides on cotton right up to
the time of harvest raises concerns that the poisons could be
entering food supplies undetected.

     Greenpeace is campaigning for a conversion to "ecological
agriculture" -- farming methods that are not only environmentally
sound, but socially just and economically viable. Bunin pointed
out that Greenpeace's "clean production" campaign has already
achieved significant success in the pulp and paper industry,
helping to convince "Time" and "Der Spiegel" magazines to switch
to chlorine-free paper.

     "Conversion to chemical-free organic cotton is a major step
forward, but unfortunately it doesn't resolve every environmental
problem facing agriculture," said Bunin. "The real significance
of this Organic Cotton Conference is that it marks the beginning
of a new partnership between farmers, consumers and
environmentalists in the search for lasting solutions to these
issues."