Background Information:

Cotton
Cotton is made from a plant that is an annual and grows to a height of about 1.5 metres before it flowers. The fruit is like a pod called a boll that contains black seeds embedded in a mass of white fibres. Commercial cultivation of cotton can only take place in regions that have:

1. an annual rainfall of 500-1,000 mm mostly falling in the growing season or plentiful supplies of water from irrigation
2. a long, sunny growing period with at least 160 frost-free days and high temperatures of about 21°C
3. a dry harvest
4. deep rich soils

As a result, most of the world's cotton is grown between latitudes 45° north and 30°south. The major producing countries within this region are the United States, People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. However, Brazil, Australia, Egypt, Argentina, Turkey, Greece and Syria are also significant producers. World's Main Cotton Producers 2001/2002

The Aral Sea in Uzbekistan
The Aral Sea in Uzbekistan was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Between 1960 and 1989 its area decreased by 40% mainly as a result of the increasing amount of water drawn from two great rivers of central Asia, the Amur Dar'ya and Syr Dar'ya, to irrigate the cotton fields of Uzbekistan. It is now an ecological disaster area.

All commercial fishing in the Aral Sea has disappeared. There is a shortage of fresh food because local farmland has deteriorated. The loss of the cooling effect of the Aral has caused the region to heat up. The health of the population has suffered, with epidemics, soaring cancer rates, increased liver and kidney disease, high rates of infant mortality and birth defects - all mainly as a result of toxic dust that blows from the salty wastelands of the former sea.

Organic Cotton Growing
One answer to environmental degradation and human suffering would appear to be Organic cotton. Cotton grown by using organic farming methods is considered to be healthier because medical problems linked with handling farm chemicals are prevented.

Organic cotton farming depends upon the development of biological cycles using ‘natural’ methods to grow produce. The farmers use only natural methods to control pests and do not spray chemicals on the cotton crops at all. The farmers encourage ‘helpful’ insects to live on their plants and eat the pest insects. They may also plant other crops nearby that are more attractive to pest insects. As a result, the pest insects are more likely to eat those plants rather than the cotton plants.

In recent years scientists have developed several varieties of cotton that have built-in protection against some of the pests and have also made a special food spray that attracts and feeds the helpful insects. However, it is harder to grow organic cotton and organic farmers produce much less cotton than conventional cotton farmers. This makes the cotton more expensive for manufacturers to buy, so the demand for organic cotton is limited.

In Australia, farmers found that yields halved when cotton was grown organically, although farmers in the United States have had more success. Cotton accounts for 50% of the world's textiles needs but organic cotton production could leave a considerable shortfall in the supply of cotton on the global textile markets. Trade experts predict a 30% increase in cotton demand in the next ten years. World Organic Cotton Production 1997

Making Cotton Textiles
The mass of white fibres (lint) in the cotton bolls is separated from the black seeds by a process called ‘ginning’. The first stage in making cotton cloth is to join these cotton fibres together using a spinning machine to make a continuous thread called yarn. The yarn is then manufactured into different types of cotton cloth by weaving on machines called looms. The woven fabric, called ‘gray’ goods, is sent to a finishing factory, called a plant, where it is bleached, pre-shrunk, dyed, printed and given a special finish before being made into clothing or other cotton products.

Hemp
Hemp is a very versatile plant that will grow well in a wide range of climates at any latitude from Norway to the Equator and can be grown easily in the UK with no pesticides or herbicides. It can grow up to 5 metres in height. Industrial hemp closely resembles the marijuana plant although marijuana cannot be produced from it. The ideal conditions for growth are:

• semi-humid conditions with temperatures between 14° and 27°C. Seedlings can tolerate up to -5°C frost
• plenty of rainfall/irrigation - 300-400mm, particularly in the first six weeks of growth
• well-drained loam soils. A shortage of nitrogen in the soil can reduce fibre mass very significantly

If hemp is grown for fibre the plants are spaced closely together to encourage stalk growth. The fibre is usually harvested when the plant has finished producing pollen and the first seeds start to develop. In the harvesting process, the non-fibre portions of the bark are dissolved in order to separate the fibres more easily in processing machinery. This process is called retting.

World production of hemp has declined in recent years. According to FAO data, world hemp fibre and tow production decreased from 368,373 tonnes in 1966 to a low of 55,823 in 1994, before increasing to 69,398 in 1998. In 1998, China accounted for 38% of world hemp fibre and tow production. Currently most raw materials are imported from China and Hungary. Although several states are examining the legalization of industrial hemp, production is still prohibited in the United States because of the inability to differentiate visually between marijuana and industrial hemp. The US is now the only member of the G7 that does not permit the cultivation of industrial hemp.

Making Textiles from Hemp
The stalk of the hemp plant has two parts, called the bast and the hurd. The bast consists of long fibres that can be used to produce clothing, paper, building materials, insulation, and carpeting. The bast can be woven into almost any kind of cloth. Hemp textiles tend to be targeted as a speciality item at the higher-end of the market where they do not need to compete on price. It is very durable and the first Levi's blue jeans were made out of hemp for this reason. The coarseness of the fibres, from very fine to coarse, is determined by crop varieties and the time of the harvest. Weaving of hemp fibres into textiles has been undertaken primarily in Hungary, China, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine. Processing costs are higher for industrial hemp because the fibres vary from the standard specifications for fibre length and diameter. As a result, it is necessary to install specialist machines in factories. The Hemp Trading Company (THTC) that features in the programme is looking to expand its business using homegrown hemp and making both pure hemp and blended hemp and cotton garments.