The Curse of White Gold

In the evergrowing laundry basket of life,our dependence on cotton comes to play. T-shirts,vests,summer dresses,shorts,wispy shirts — how can we go through the several months of tropical weather without our annual catnip of these?

We allow the climate to steer us towards a routine that works with natural cycles,our newfound and much valued eco-ethics makes us change our lifestyles to make the planet greener. I know enough people who won’t turn on the air-conditioning for more than an hour or two a day (some not even that). They restructure their offices and homes to catch the wind current and ventilate better. They surround their balconies with cooling plants,nature’s best air-conditioner. But when it comes to our wardrobes,there is little we can do except switch to cottons,linen and soft mul.

There is great merit in dressing for the weather. Indian fashion designers are doing some truly amazing work reviving assorted hand-spun weaves. Pakistan even has morning shows of its recently concluded Pakistan Fashion Design Council fashion week dedicated to “lawn”,or a cotton voile that the country beautifully drapes itself in each summer.

It’s the high-street cotton – our wardrobe mainstay — that has a sneaky back story few of us are open to accepting. Cotton,more than any other commodity in the world,has direct links with the dark side of globalisation. Raw cotton feeds our relentless addiction to fast fashion,we don’t care where or how our cotton is produced,we just need large quantities of it.

Reports have shown that 99 per cent of today’s cotton producers are exploited. While the UN and fair-trade organisations have been raising the ethical bar,several developing nations continue their litany of cheap labour,banned pesticides and unnecessary subsidies for national profit. Only six countries (China,India,USA,Pakistan,Brazil and Uzbekistan) produce almost 90 per cent of cotton globally,and each one is trying to out-do the other in making it cheaper.

In her book To Die For,from where much of my research comes,Lucy Siegle points out that India has devoted more land to producing cotton than any other country. As cotton becomes cheaper annually,its Cotton Bowl (Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Chattisgarh and Maharashtra) is mired in debt. When journalist Dionne Bunsha interviewed cotton farmers in Gujarat,they stated that for every pair of jeans that is sold for Rs 1,500 in shops,they get only Rs 13. The manufacturers get all the profit. India’s Cotton Bowl soon got renamed as its Suicide Belt,with the wives and daughters of deceased farmers being physically and sexually exploited too.

What can we consumers do to curb this? Buy less and pay more is the most obvious answer. But also ask questions and be informed. Refuse fast fashion,pay for quality and integrity in clothes.

There’s nothing more in vogue than being aware.

namratanow@gmail.com