To Change the Fashion Industry, Start with Cotton

Want to know a (dirty) secret? Cotton is regarded as one of the world’s dirtiest crops. While you might think of cotton and picture soft, cozy fabrics, the reality is that cotton clothing production is known for the volume of chemicals used in growing and processing the fiber. In fact, 5 of the 9 top pesticides used on cotton are classified by the United States EPA as probable carcinogens. There’s nothing nice and cozy about that. Although cotton is grown on only 3-5% of land, it uses 10% of earth’s pesticides and 24% of earth’s insecticides each year.

For over 30 years now, Maggie’s has been around to  change the standards and conventions of the apparel industry. In a world full of shortcuts and fast fashion trends, we’ve pushed back because we believe in products that are made sustainably and ethically – not in products made from materials polluting the planet and endangering growers and workers. Since the beginning, we’ve committed to sourcing organic cotton to lessen our environmental footprint, ensure worker empowerment, and produce high-quality products.

While we began sourcing our organic cotton for our socks from Nicaragua, changing weather patterns destroyed much of the cotton crop there and chased us around the world in search of an alternative. Today, most of the  organic cotton used in our socks is grown by nearly 2,000 small farmers in Tanzania. We’re proud to partner with the cotton farmers in Tanzania because of the high standards they hold in the production of their cotton crop. Key to our farmers’ success is the training provided to them through bioRe Foundation, which allows them to expand their knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices that increase crop yield and overall productivity. From farm to finish, we make it a priority to increase revenue brought into the communities in which we work.

All along our supply chain, we’re committed to Real Fair Trade principles that put the health and wellbeing of people and the planet first. And while Real Fair Trade in action takes on many forms, it all begins with our foundational commitment to sourcing organic cotton. So whether you’re wearing our socks or leggings or using our home goods collection, our commitment to you is that you can always count on Maggie’s to go the extra step to ensure ethically and sustainably sourced materials that are made to the very highest quality and using fair working standards.