Cotton’s Enduring Sustainability, Arizona’s “Fancy Fabric”

As I said last Saturday on the Rosie on the House show on KTAR, I love cotton and am partial to this agricultural crop since our family farmed cotton in Arizona for generations. It’s true, I’m biased.

Every November on the Rosie on the House show, we highlight Arizona’s cotton crop and its legacy in this state. It’s a time to feature all our cotton-growing farm families since harvest is around the corner and this time we featured Cassy England, a fourth-generation farm family member. Farming in Pinal and Pima counties, England and her uncle, Donny, partner on their cotton, wheat and alfalfa farms. 

Arizona’s cotton story is legendary: from the peak growing during the late 1970s and 1980s of as much as 500,000 to 600,000 acres in cotton. Today, our average acreage statewide can range from 90,000 to around 130,000. But one stand-out legacy is our finest extra-long staple (ELS) cotton, developed and grown right here in Arizona. The USDA in Sacaton, Arizona, had an ELS breeding program that helped develop the ELS cotton. 

Arizona cotton, along with California cotton, is some of the whitest, highest-quality cotton around. One main reason is that Arizona and California irrigate the cotton. With so little rainfall in the southwest, the cotton fiber is not at risk for compromised quality due to wind and rain. 

Cotton and Sustainability: 

Cotton is a natural fiber, grown from seed planted in prepared soil and spun into a soft yarn. Cotton farming has made, and continues to make, huge strides toward sustainability and environmental responsibility.

You may have heard the term “microfibers,” which refers to the minuscule fibers that shed through regular wear and into our waterways when we launder our clothing. Clothing microfibers affect aquatic life and the aquatic food chain. 

Cotton, a natural fiber made of cellulose, biodegrades in wastewater, saltwater, and freshwater, and does not contribute to widespread microplastic pollution. 

Of special note, the National Cotton Council of America launched the #PlantNotPlastic initiative to share how small choices, like choosing cotton, can make a big difference. Go to the Plant not Plastic website to find out more: plantnotplastic.org 

Cotton’s 6 Sustainability Goals for 2025: 

The U.S. cotton industry has set 6 key sustainability goals to achieve by 2025:

Says the Cotton LEADS Program, “Cotton producers and industry organizations developed these goals using science-based evaluations and measure our progress to them with independent verifiable data. We outline specific strategies for reaching our sustainability goals, provide public updates, and constantly recruit growers, millers, producers, and retailers to join in these efforts through efforts like the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.”

The US cotton industry continues to push what is possible in cotton. These sustainability goals with robust data collection and traceability will help set cotton up for success.  The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a voluntary sustainability program and traceability platform for U.S. cotton. It's the only program offering quantifiable measurements across six key sustainability metrics and was the first to offer article-level traceability.

And cotton is biodegradable. You can bury a pair of men’s underwear and within weeks the cotton fiber will fully biodegrade. What remains is the elastic waistband, made of synthetic fibers. 100% cotton is biodegradable.

Cotton Represents 35 Years of Reduced Environmental Impact: According to the 2016 Field to Market Report, In the last 35 years land use for cotton has gone down by 31%, soil loss has gone down by 44%, water use for cotton has gone down by 82%, energy use for cotton has gone down 54%, and GHG has gone down by 30%. 

Cotton is Drought Tolerant: 

Cotton seed has been developed to be drought-tolerant and most cotton harvested requires little irrigation to grow, except in California and Arizona where the largest yields per acre are realized because of managed, precise irrigation. 60% of U.S. cotton and 50% of world cotton is grown with rainfall. Rainfall can degrade the quality of the cotton fiber, however, and why California and Arizona cotton is considered such a high-quality, high-yielding cotton. 

Cotton is a fruit: 

With seed within the “cotton boll,” cotton is recognized as a fruit, just not in the typical sense. Proof of its fruit identifier, insects of all types love this plant and why farmers must be vigilant in protecting their crop from destructive pests. 

Cotton and Peanuts: 

The American South owes its success in the peanut-growing industry to cotton---sort of.  The boll weevil created an economic crisis all over the American South by laying its eggs in the cotton bolls, destroying much of the crop in the process. In Enterprise, Alabama, cotton farmers watched this helplessly until someone suggested they try growing peanuts instead, which is now one of their most successful crop products! In the meantime, a boll weevil eradication.

Cotton is ubiquitous: 

It’s the most widespread, profitable mostly non-food crop in the world, and cotton production provides income for more than 250 million people. Cotton is also the only agricultural commodity that provides both fiber and food since cottonseed can be used for cooking oil and livestock feed.

To listen to last Saturday's radio show, select the button below. 

Sources: Cotton Incorporated, National Cotton Council, The Cotton LEADS Program, Field to Market.org, Arizona Cotton Council, Arizona Farm Bureau and our Arizona Cotton Farmers.