Organic Cotton as a part of Happymess Universe

Organic Cotton as a part of the Happymess Universe

Enjoying the warm rays of the sun in natural healthy soil and having no idea what the pesticides, fungicides or GMO are, organic cotton starts its journey on the way to become a part of natural balance and also a part of our Happymess universe.

From the very beginning, when Happymess was just a seed of an idea, there was one undoubtable thing - the products for our kids will be made of GOTS certified, organic and natural materials.

GOTS certification - what does it mean?

GOTS or Global Organic Textile Standard means that it’s met strict standards of organic farming and it’s been produced by well-treated humans.

Why is the idea of being true and organic so much important to us? We don't eat cotton fiber (at least we hope you don’t!), so what is a point? There is a huge difference between conventional and organic cotton. Even if in both cases we have cotton, believe us, they do not belong to the same family. And here we will tell you why: 

The Differences Between Organic And Conventional Cotton:

	Organic	Conventional
seed	Natural, GMO free seeds	Typically treated with fungicides or insecticides. Possible GMOs.
soil	Healthy soil through crop rotation.	Synthetic fertilizers, loss of soil due to mono- crop culture.
Weed control	Natural, healthy  environment, where You can find beneficial insects and trap crops	Aerial spraying of pesticides and insecticides
harvesting	Natural defoliation	Defoliation induced with toxic chemicals.
Production	Warp fibers stabilized using double-plying or nontoxic cornstarch.	Warp fibers stabilized using toxic waxes.

As we can see, the difference between organic and non-organic cotton is huge and it starts at the very beginning - when the cotton is a baby-seed. Let's have a closer look at our ecological material and find out why mothers of #Happymesskids choose organic over conventional.

Is the quality of organic cotton better?

Clothes made of organic cotton are much more durable than those made of conventional cotton. Why? The fibres of organic cotton are not weakened by chemical processes.The same is with the crops - organic cotton does not use pesticides or other chemical agents so as a result it is stronger and more durable than the conventional one.

Is the organic cotton softer?

We all want clothes to feel nice on the skin. Organic cotton is often softer, because of the way that it’s picked. Machine picking (the typical way of traditional cotton) damages the cotton fibers, weakening them and breaking them up. In contrast, the organic cotton is hand-picked, which means that it retains its long-form, making it feel softer on your skin, more able to withstand time and in addition - better looking which is also important.

Children, human and allergies friendly

Clothing made of organic cotton is chemical free, and hypoallergenic. They do not contain impurities in the form of substances considered dangerous to the human nervous system (e.g. the insecticides mentioned above: parathion, diazinon). They also do not contain residues of heavy metals, oil-derivative substances or formaldehyde found in clothes made of conventional cotton.

Environmentally friendly

Organic cotton has a much lower environmental footprint. Production of organic cotton takes 71% less water and 62% less energy than production of conventional cotton.

Responsible and sustainable organic cotton production provides a variety of environmental benefits. For example soil inputs reduction such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

These benefits help promoting healthy ecosystem, including healthy soil, which is a core principle of regenerative agriculture.

Gives home to cool creatures

Going organic also helps to minimize climate change by hiding away carbon in the soil and allowing more long-term storage. This means that it’s promoting biodiversity by allowing beetles, spiders, and earthworms to live within it.

Showing love for our organic cotton

Grown up, full of sunlight, well treated with farmers' hands, all in love and attention, fluffy flowers out of tiny seeds became GOTS certificate organic cotton and a core material of Happymess sleeping bags, cushions and blankets. Trust us, it has its own soul and story and it always finds a common ground with our kids. Mostly it's love from the first sight, which lasts for a really long time and trust us, in this case we don’t speak about material only :)