Cotton Capsule

Cotton is basically the overachiever of the fabric world. Soft, breathable, familiar, everywhere. About half of all textiles are made from it, and most of us are wrapped in cotton daily without even thinking about it. T-shirts, sheets, towels, baby clothes — cotton feels like the “good guy” fabric we can trust.

And… mostly, it is. But the story behind modern cotton is messier than its clean white image suggests.
Despite being natural and biodegradable, conventional cotton farming is surprisingly hard on the planet. It uses a huge share of the world’s pesticides and fertilizers, and it’s famously thirsty. Entire ecosystems have been pushed to collapse by cotton irrigation — including the Aral Sea and major river systems in Asia and Australia. That softness comes at a real environmental cost.

The human cost matters too. In parts of the world, cotton production is still tied to exploitative labor, including child labor and forced labor. These aren’t abstract issues — they’re baked into global supply chains that prioritize cheap volume over human dignity.