Spirited Organic Cotton

On Friday, February 20, 2009 the Boxer women’s and men’s basketball teams took on University of Puget Sound. During the games the Pacific University Student Alumni Relations Council launched a total of 50 free t-shirts in to the stands.

These were not ordinary t-shirts however; they were intentionally selected organic cotton t-shirts printed at a local printing company.

Why did we intentionally select organic cotton, not only for these shirts, but for most of the promotional shirts used at our events and distributed to our alumni?

In short because “the fabric of our lives” can have a significant impact on the health of the earth, animals, other plant and humans.



Prior to the advent of modern chemical pesticides, cotton production was a fairly low-impact industry.

However, after World War II the use powerful pesticides became common. In addition chemicals are now used to fertilize soil, keep weeds at bay and as a defoliant since leaves must be removed before cotton is harvested. Add wasteful irrigation practices and genetically modified seeds and we have recipe for environmental havoc.

Use of chemicals in conventional farming has been linked to a myriad of environmental issues including global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer.

There is concern that pesticide use is connected with the loss of bee colonies in the United States and it is estimated that more than 67 million bird deaths are linked with pesticides each year.

The list goes on …

Organic cotton represents an attempt to recapture simpler cotton farming practices. Organic cotton is grown with non-GMO seeds (that have not been pre-treated with fungicides or pesticides) planted in soil made strong through the age-old practice of crop rotation. A lack of synthetic fertilizers means the soil can more absorb water, necessitating less irrigation. Weeds are prevented by careful cultivation and hand hoeing. Pests are driven off by introduction of beneficial insects. Defoliation usually occurs naturally with first freeze.



So the lucky Boxer fans who caught Spirit Night t-shirts on Friday, caught more than a free t-shirt. Fifty luck fans also caught our commitment to the earth and its inhabitants in selecting organic cotton.

T-shirts produced by Anvil Organic and printed at EvolTwin Printing.