Yeah, but even organic cotton needs about 20 litres of water per inch of thread. Or something. Far better to go for polyester...
Actually, organic cotton is not that bad. I read about the stuff in a very interesting and lengthy book called "WorldChanging, a user's guide for the 21st century"...
The problem with Polyester is that it takes around 400 years to disintegrate while encouraging the pollution cycle since it is made from petroleum based products. But there are a host of alternatives.
Standard cotton is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Producing 1 t-shirt uses 1/3 of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers... not good for the environment.
Organic cotton, while being a resource intensive production, is a lot better.
There are also new fibers. In India, they have been using Modal and Lyocell fibers as replacements for Polyester and Rayon. These fibers are extracted from beech wood and are just as per formant as the synthetics.
There is also Bamboo fiber that is used in blends.
And, for the granola fans among us
there is the ultimate fiber: hemp. It doesn't mean rough burlap anymore! It can be woven as finely as silk. It is also the toughest fiber in the natural world! It is also mildew resistant (and no, it won't give you a buzz
)
Anyways... I just thought some of you might be interested in knowing a bit about this stuff. (and yes, after reading over 300 pages of this book, I too want to change the world!)