Organic cotton vs conventional cotton: whats the difference?

The reasons why organic cotton—not conventional cotton—is better for you and the planet. And why the future is regenerative cotton.

Cotton is a plant fiber, and the world is dependent on it. Relying on one plant fiber source can lead to over-reliance, and promotes negative farming practices to make cotton grow faster.

What is conventional cotton?

The majority of conventional cotton, or regular cotton, comes from genetically modified, not natural, seeds—and pesticides are used to protect crops from weeds, insects and diseases. At PANGAIA, we never use virgin, non-organic cotton.

What is organic cotton?

Natural seeds are used to produce organic cotton, and organic farmers use natural methods to grow their crops. This means no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics or growth hormones.

What are the benefits of organic cotton?

Soft to touch.
Organic cotton products are softer than regular cotton because of the longer fibers. Being handpicked [not machine picked] ensures these fibers don’t get weakened or broken, resulting in softer and more durable products.

Safer for the skin.
As there is no use of pesticides or other harmful chemicals, organic cotton products are safer for the skin. Products manufactured with conventional cotton can cause allergic reactions to the skin.

Farmer health.
Avoiding the use of hazardous synthetic pesticides means farmers aren’t putting their health at risk to make our clothes. 

Protects the planet.
Eliminating hazardous synthetic pesticides from cotton farming build healthy soils which store carbon and help to combat climate change.

Our journey to regenerative cotton

We're transitioning our cotton production from organic to regenerative practices, with the aim of having all virgin cotton grown through regenerative systems by 2026.

Our In Conversion Cotton Capsule is made with soft, breathable and lightweight in-conversion cotton grown using regenerative practices—this capsule is a physical manifestation of our next step towards an Earth-positive production model that gives back more than it takes.