Many people may see cotton as a natural product. Unfortunately, today's cotton is hardly natural. Although it is not synthetic, it has been overly exposed to chemicals, such as fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide and defoliant. Chemical detergents and stiffener are also used when it becomes thread and fabrics, which will be chemically dyed and printed for finishing. This is an efficient and convenient method to improve productivity but there are significant sacrifices behind this process.

Sadly, small children in third world countries have to spay pesticide or herbicide to grow cotton. They bury their bodies in waist-deep cotton fields to spray the harmful chemicals that will eventually sink into cotton plants, their little bodies and the mother earth. In the following year, in the same soil, with the same process, cotton plants are grown again as if it is a natural cycle.

Alternatively, organic cotton grows under sunshine in a healthy soil. The soil has not been exposed to any chemicals for at least three years. Pest control is done by little insects like ladybirds and weed control is done manually by farmers. Harvest only occurs at the right time after all leaves drop naturally. Starch is often used in the process of making threads and fabrics. They are not usually dyed so their colours are often natural or brown.

We use cotton products assuming they are natural and gentle on our skin. We use them in our every day life from clothing to beddings. We use them for our sensitive new born babies too, but babies' skin is three to five times thinner than the adults', so once substance touches their skin it can sink in straight away. The human body can detoxify harmful products if they are taken orally, but if taken from skin, it cannot neutralise so they stay deep inside the skin. I myself have very sensitive skin, so I have been avoiding synthetic fabrics and using 'skin-friendly' cotton for many years, without knowing about the real cotton growing process. I was completely shocked when I heard about the fact. Being pregnant at that time, I decided to seek organic cotton for my child and myself.

It would be wonderful if we changed to organic cotton for all of our daily cotton products, but it would be a waste to replace all of the existing cotton products in our household. Maybe, we can start from choosing organic cotton towels, as we use them everyday. It is ideal to choose organic cotton products for our delicate babies, especially for some items that may directly touch their skin or that they may put in their mouths.

Compared to mass-produced cotton products, organic cotton products can be a little bit pricy, but this is because they require extra care and time to produce. This additional value is significant and definitely cannot be compared.

One individual person can only make a small change, but the difference we all make together will gradually change people's value and will help save the earth and our children. MUKU believes using organic cotton is one of the ways to contribute to such activity and would always like to have natural and caring intentions.