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Book of Abstracts

11th IFOAM
Scientific Conference
11-15 August 1996
Copenhagen, Denmark


Abstract front page
Subject index
Athor index

Symposia

Cotton, Naturally Colored S2

Fox, Sally V.

Natural Cotton Colours, Inc., 67 N. Tegner Street, Wickenburg, Arizona 85358, USA

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Organic.dk

Colored cotton has always existed in nature but the fiber has been too short and weak to machine spin. Starting in 1982, traditional plantbreeding on an organic farm has been used to improve cottons with naturally colored tint. Natural Cotton Colours, Inc, was founded in 1989 and soldits first bale of FoxFibre(r). Today this unique cotton is used in amultitude of products. The purpose of this paper is to outline the economic and ecological advantages of using organically grown naturally colored cotton. Despite the fact that the initial cost of the colored cotton is higher than white cotton, by avoiding the substantial costs of dyeing, the cost of a finished yarn is comparable to or less than conventional alternatives. The ecological advantags of growing organic cotton and eliminating the problems associated with the dye process will be discussed.