This or That: Wool or cotton?
Wool or cotton?
It's getting to be the time of year when chunky wool sweaters and comfy cotton sweatshirts are a daily necessity for beating the cold weather -- but have you ever stopped to think which one of them is gentler on the environment?
It's seemingly an "apples to oranges" debate, with the answer really depending on your own personal opinions. Here's how the pros and cons of the wool versus cotton break down:
[via Treehugger]
It's getting to be the time of year when chunky wool sweaters and comfy cotton sweatshirts are a daily necessity for beating the cold weather -- but have you ever stopped to think which one of them is gentler on the environment?
It's seemingly an "apples to oranges" debate, with the answer really depending on your own personal opinions. Here's how the pros and cons of the wool versus cotton break down:
- Wool production contributes serious greenhouse gases to the atmosphere (from the sheep burping lots of methane) while cotton production contributes serious chemicals and nitrous oxide to the earth (from pesticides and fertilizers). Organic cotton reduces this somewhat.
- Both use LOTS of water. Wool needs about 500,000 liters per metric ton, and cotton needs approximately 2,500 metric liters just to grow the cotton for a single t-shirt.
- Because cotton is easier to wash at home cotton clothes tend to be washed more often than wool ones, and therefore use more energy (over a lifetime, on average) than wool.
[via Treehugger]
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