Tracing Cotton Roots

For this assignment I decided to research where the cotton from Nike comes from. I looked at the material my Nike socks are made out of and it has 58% cotton, 39% nylon, and 3% spandex. As Nike is one of the largest clothing manufacturers in the United States, I thought it would be beneficial to know where so much of the country's gross economical material comes from.

In 2001, Nike set a goal to integrate at least 5% organic cotton into their conventional cotton by 2011 and then another for 10% by 2015 (Environmentally Preferred Materials). They used over 21 million pounds of organic cotton fiber in their products last year, placing them as the third-largest retail user of organic cotton in the world. The source of their cotton, in the case of my socks, was made in Pakistan. It is one of the largest cotton producers in the world but their production process can have terrible environmental impacts. They irrigated weekly and used fertilizers and pesticides whenever they irrigated. In 2006, World Wildlife Federation started a project that encouraged better ways to grow cotton. Now Pakistani farmers have reduced their use of water by 37%, pesticides by 47%, and chemical fertilizer by 40% (Better Cotton). Now they only irrigate and fertilize when they need to.

Now that I have researched and learned how Nike obtains their cotton, I feel much more comfortable buying their products. A big concern now is how much Americans, or the world in general, are wasting products and how it is affecting the earth. Nike is striving to use materials that is good for the environment, instead of trying to make the most money. The cotton production in Pakistan is also making an effort to find more effective ways to harvest their crop. It would definitely influence my decision in buying something if it was a cotton product made in Pakistan. It all begins at the farm, and if they are working to help the environment then the rest of company is mindful of the environment.

References:
"Environmentally Preferred Materials." Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. Web. 27 Sept 2015.
"Better Cotton." WWF Global. WWF Global. Web. 27 Sept 2015.