Atlantis Headwear Sustainability Series 2024 US

Organic cotton Cotton is the world’s largest non-food crop. Grown by more than 80 countries, its production is concentrated in India, China, US, Brazil, and Pakistan which combined together produce 75% of all the world’s cotton.¹ Cotton is an impressive material and one of the most used in our collections: it’s soft, comfortable, breathable and hypoallergenic. Despite its presence in nature, conventional cultivation is often not so sustainable, which uses chemicals (synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers and GMOs) and large amounts of water for irrigation, irreversibly damaging the soil. There are also social impacts, such as child and forced labour and exposure to potentially toxic and carcinogenic compounds. 1 The World Counts (2021) World Cotton Production Statistics. 2 The LCA was conducted on selected articles, taking takes into account the complete life of the product, from its production to distribution. The alternative exists and is called organic cotton grown without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers which, in the long run, filter both into plants and into the soil. Organically farmed cotton comes from controlled and certified crops, supporting biodiversity and healthier ecosystems. This way, water consumption is significantly reduced, soil fertility is preserved and better working conditions and health are guaranteed to farmers and their families. The LCA study 2 we conducted also confirmed that choosing organic cotton for our products led to a reduction of CO2 emission from 18% to 21% compared to the conventional one. Organic cotton was one of the first preferred materials introduced in 2018 and we keep investing in this fabric selecting certified supply chains that include both environmental and ethical standards and allow us to verify the fiber origin.