During my writing and research time I had a lot of ups and downs.  I found it easy to find general information on the differences between organic and conventional cotton, but nothing that truly made a great standpoint.  I had a lot of luck with big magazine articles on the topic because they were mostly unbiased and gave me a good outlook on the topic overall.  I used a lot of this information when writing because I had information from them from both standpoints (for and against the growth of organic cotton over conventional cottons).  Once I was finally done researching and collecting information from different sources, I decided I needed to focus my research on a specific place or community, which is how I narrowed my research to the IUP Co-op store, and undergraduate student community.  When I had narrowed my research I figured out what kind of surveys and interviews I wanted to conduct, and got on them! This was one of the easier parts of my research because I knew exactly what I wanted to ask and why.

Overall, now being done, I am so excited!!! I have seen what a hard worker I can be when researching, and I really proved to myself that when needed I can be very persistent and determined to find and answer.  I was excited to be finding out bunches of new information and now I’m just happy to have it all sorted out and put into a final paper! Thank God.

Introduction

            It seems as though everyday more and more people are searching for new ways to live their lives in a more eco-friendly approach.  Along with the increasing amount of the population becoming more aware of the environment, new developments are also being made in order to help protect it as well.  Whether consumers are more worried about what is healthier for them, or if they are singly concerned with what is best for the environment, we are at a new stage of an eco-friendly market.

Organic cotton, first experimented with by a way to find a healthier way for the soil to grow cotton, has become one of the most asked for organic product by consumers (Yeldell, 2006).  The idea of growing organic cotton as a replacement of conventionally grown cotton has caught many consumers’ eyes who are trying to become more ‘green,’ (meaning more environmentally healthy and friendly.)  In the past decade big manufacturers, like Wal-Mart, have started working more with designer’s companies who will manufacture organically grown cotton merchandise that they can sell in their stores.  In a survey done by a small business owner in Maine, data concluded that what customers wanted to see in stock was more organic and natural products without the use of pesticides and harmful chemicals (Groening). 

The use of organic cotton has been proven to be better for the soil where grown.  Conventional cotton is sprayed numerous times during the growth period with damaging chemicals and pesticides in order to keep insects from eating away at them.  This process is extremely harmful to the soil where it is sprayed and treated.  This research will help to explain how farmers and production companies have found new and innovative ways to grow cotton organically, without the use of these destructive substances.  A lot of research has previously been done on the comparison of organically grown cotton versus chemically based, conventionally grown cotton.  What new research I want to bring to this subject is that I am going to interview management from the Co-op book store here at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), and see why or why not they choose to purchase merchandise made with organic cotton.  

Literature Review

            Overall, the research I have already found comes together to conclude that growing organic cotton is far safer and better (not only for the environment, but for the person wearing the product as well) than chemically based, conventional cotton.  A few of the sources described organic cotton in the way that it is cotton grown without the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers, or herbicides (Welch 2007, Sustainable Cotton Project 2000, Yeldell 2006, & Green 2006).  Other articles used in the research went to the consumers for data to find whether people preferred organic versus conventional cotton, or if they just did not care.  Imhoff, Green, Groening, Sizemore, etc. all reported that when asked, consumers said they would prefer to provide themselves and their families with organically grown cotton fabric merchandise because it is all around healthier.

            When confronted with some research about the differences between organic and conventional cotton, I would like to find out why or why not the IUP co-op store does or does not resort to retailers who sells organic fabric merchandise.  When the answer is inquired I want to apply it to this research.  If the co-op store does indeed look to use organic cottons, I will be able to use it as data that consumers and companies are turning towards organic over conventional cotton.  If the co-op store does not look for companies to sell them organic products, or if they just are not aware of it, then I can still use this as information for my research by negligence. 

            Maria C. Thiry, the author of If the Environment is Important, explained in detail about the pros and cons of using organic versus conventional cottons.  She states that, “physically, organically-grown cotton fibers are identical.  ‘When you analyze the fiber there’s no difference,’ notes Cantrell [vice-president of agricultural research for Cotton Incorporated].  ‘No performance difference, no difference in strength” (Thiry, 2007).  Despite there not being any difference physically, Thiry still went on to explain the chemical and characteristic traits that are far different.  Information pulled from this article will be extremely useful in proving that organic cotton and conventional cotton are much different and cannot even be put in the same categories, even though they are both actually cottons.

            To keep research unbiased and balanced I am going to use information from the article by Dadd, named Conventional vs. Organic Cotton Clothing.  Throughout this article Dadd kept in mind that there are both benefits and withdrawals for growing, using, and purchasing organically grown cotton and conventionally grown cotton.  It is extremely important to not only look at the plus’ and minus’ of a topic, but to compare the two evenly.  I am going to need to not only compare organic cotton and conventional cotton during the growth periods, but also look at the after affects of the two cottons.  The writing from Dadd is a letter to the editor and includes the response.  Since this article is a refereed article, with a set of two responses from an outside source and the editor, I find it more informational because the outside source asked questions that I had in mind as well.

            Generally, the sources I have chosen to use to help me with my research are going to be very beneficial to me.  Almost all of the articles explained in detail the specific differences in organic and conventional cottons, the benefits as well as the setbacks in both, as well as the uses of both types of organic cottons.  Some of the articles gave me a head start in researching why consumers prefer to buy organic cottons over conventional, and why mainstream manufacturers prefer it as well.  In my research I have found that although the farming and production of organic cotton may be more time consuming, it is actually better for the soil and all around environment than conventionally or chemically based cotton. 

Methods Overview

            Other ways I am going to collect data that I have yet to do is by doing a little bit of interviewing.  I am going to relate my entire research project to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) co-op store.  I am going to email the store director of the IUP co-op store, along with the person in charge of the collegiate apparel department.  In my emails I am going to simply ask them both if they have:

·         Ever purchased merchandise made from organic cotton for the co-op store? 

·         Whether the co-op store has ever sold any merchandise made from organic cottons?  Why or why not? 

·         If not, has the co-op store ever thought about selling merchandise made from organic cotton?

·         Have you ever looked in to the idea, searched around with prices, and thought about what is best for the environment when purchasing merchandise?

 I think the answers from the store director and head of the collegiate apparel department will be very useful in my research because I can show if (or if not) a small community like IUP is trying to make a difference by purchasing and selling organic cotton products.  The information I will gather from the interviews will be considered qualitative data because the information cannot be considered statistical in any way.  It is also qualitative data because the answers which will be received are going to be more in depth that a simple “yes” or “no.”  I will use the responses in my research to show whether an on campus book and merchandise store is concerned with the specific type of cottons they are selling.

            Another form of interview I am interested in doing is asking students here at IUP whether:

·         Are you an undergraduate student here at IUP

·         Are you male or female?

·         Are you concerned with buying any clothing products made organically?

·          Have you ever looked when shopping at what the merchandise you are interested in is made of organic cotton? 

·         Would you prefer organic over conventional cottons?

·         Do you know the difference between organic and conventional cottons?

I am going to be using a survey website named surveymonkey.com to collect my data from the students at IUP.  The website was recommended by Marlen Harrison, and it will be helpful in getting a good sample from the student population.  In my survey I am planning on only using information collected from students that are undergraduates here at IUP.  I am hoping to get a sample of a total of 50 to 75 students (depending on the amount of feedback).  The results from my survey will include quantitative data because the answers will be narrowed to a “yes,” “sometimes,” or “no, never.”  These answers will group together to give me a statistical representation of all of the responses given.  This process will help further my study by showing what percentages of consumers care about the cottons they are purchasing. 

            After all of the information and data from interviews has been collected, I will be able to start my conclusion part of this research.  I will be able to use information from the articles I have found from the EBSCO Host search engine as some sorts of background information, as well as valid testimony about the differences between organic and conventional cottons.  The answers from the co-op store director and the head of collegiate apparel department will help me narrow my research to a more specific area of the world, instead of generalizing to the entire world.  Asking the student population here at IUP will assist me in coming to a conclusion as to whether consumers are concerned with the environment enough to regulate what cottons they purchase to exclusively organic cottons.

 Results Section

            Finally, the results are in!  After researching, surveying, interviewing and digging for results, the answers are here at last.  From researching through various sources, it was concluded that “conventionally-grown cotton is considered to be the most heavily sprayed crop worldwide.  Not only do spray residues affect the soil and fiber, they also can cause problems with the use of cottonseed oil in salad dressings, baked goods as well as cotton seed fed to beef and dairy cattle,” (Sustainable Cotton Project, 2000).  From another article titled The Benefits of Organic vs. Chemically Treated Cotton the author explained, “It takes nearly a third of a pound of chemicals to grow enough cotton for one t-shirt.  It is estimated that less than 10% of the chemicals applied to cotton are accomplishing their tasks, the rest are absorbed into the plant, air, soil, water and eventually, our bodies,” (Ecology America, 1994-2008).

            From the survey titled “Organic vs. Conventional Cotton; Do you know the difference?” undergraduate students from the IUP community were asked to respond to an answer a short six question survey.  Starting with the first question of whether or not the person taking the survey was an undergraduate student at IUP, 58 of the 59 respondents answered yes to this.  Sex was another factor in the survey, and of the 59 respondents 30 were female, and 29 male.  When the surveyor was asked whether they actually knew the difference between organic and conventionally grown cotton, 14 of the respondents answered yes, 30 said to some extent, and 44 replied that they had no idea of the difference between the two.  Because not many of the people whom took the survey actually knew of the differences between the two cottons, I feel that some of the results to the further questions may be skewed or thrown off because of their lack of knowledge. 

            When the surveyors were asked if they were concerned with buying products made organically/with organic cottons 3 people answered yes/usually, 24 said sometimes and an overwhelming amount of 61 people (of 88) said no/never!  Next, when asked if they have ever looked while shopping at whether products of interest were made or produced organically, 5 said yes, 20 said sometimes and 63 of 88 surveyors said no/never.  The last thing the surveyors were asked was if they would prefer to purchase organic cotton over conventionally grown cottons, and 14 people said yes, 12 responded for one specific product, 20 said for many specific products and 42 people of the 88 total respondents said no, never. 

            Along with the great turnout of respondents from the online survey, the answers from the collegiate apparel buyer of the IUP co-op store were also extremely helpful and informational.  He explained that the very first time any organic clothing was purchased to sell in the co-op store was only about two years ago.  Money is also a huge obstacle in the process.  The collegiate apparel buyer explained that to purchase a shirt made from organic cotton it is actually “double the cost of our regular shirts, which is turn doubles the retail and most of the customers are hesitant to buy them” (Personal interview, Sharbaugh).  Lastly, Sharbaugh (the collegiate apparel buyer at the IUP Co-op Store) explained that the college market is not quite ready for the ground-breaking expansion of new organic cotton products.

Discussion

Overall from both the online survey and the personal email interview a lot of useful qualitative and quantitative data were collected that helped me find great information on the research topic. These interviews and surveys contributed to my narrowed part of the research, but also the information from an assortment of sources helped with information on the pros and cons of organic and conventional cotton alone.  The article on the Sustainable Cotton Project that explained the harms of conventional and chemically based cotton helped give evidence that not only is the soil being damaged but other forms of food and produce are harmed when cotton is grown in such a manner. 

From the Ecology America article I was able to find useful information that helped exemplify the harms of growing cotton with a chemical background and base.  As the article stated, the chemicals that are sprayed on the cotton plants does not only soak into the plant, but almost everything else around it as well.  This is a very dangerous concept because the amount of chemicals needed for one single cotton plant is a very high amount, meaning the other things being harmed are in much danger during the process.

I found that most undergraduate students (specifically in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania community), do not know very much about organic cottons or about the differences between organic and conventional.  If the person did know the difference between organic and conventionally grown products, they only sometimes were interested in purchasing products specifically made organically.  I also found many of the respondents were not concerned with purchasing organically, or even noticed whether or not the products they were interested in were organic or not.  The amount of people who did not know nor care about the differences between organic and conventional cotton really surprised me.  I feel as though the future of the earth is in the hands of the population living now, and if we continue to ignore the needs of the earth and continuously damage it there won’t be a healthy and productive earth to live on in the future.

            From the email interview I found that it is much harder for a college store to purchase and sell organic cotton merchandise than the entire retail industry alone.  The cost of selling organically grown cottons is much more expensive than conventional cotton.  I think if the cost was not a factor a lot more people in the world would be more interested and concerned with buying organic clothing, and it would be easier for small retailers (like college campus stores) to sell these items in a costly and fashionable manner.  His (the collegiate apparel buyer at the IUP Co-op store) reasoning or explanation for this was that the “college market is about a year or so behind retails and I would say there are only about 15% of the total companies that offer one or more organic styles” (Personal interview, Sharbaugh).  He also went into detail to explain that there are many “limitations with the organic lines…the items only have one or two colors to choose from and khaki is usually one of them.  It [khaki] is also one of the worst selling colors” (Personal interview, Sharbaugh).

Conclusion

            When the research first started out I was searching to find whether organic cotton was truly better for the earth, soil, person wearing it and the apparel market as a whole.  I branched out my research to include my universities campus store (the IUP Co-op store) which helped narrow my research to one specific location.  I also narrowed it by surveying IUP undergraduate students only.  In the end I found from many different sources that the soil where organic cotton is grown not only lasts a great deal longer but is healthier to a great extent as well.  I found that there are more than just initial problems with growing chemically based cottons like harm to other resources at the same time.

            Research that could be brought to the subject of organic cotton versus conventional cotton in the future could be ways that manufactures can produce a more costly and colorful collection that can be distributed to college campus stores nationwide.  This topic would be very beneficial to campus stores like the IUP Co-op store because as of now there is a very high cost to sell organic cotton merchandise.  Also it would be beneficial for someone to research whether there is a costly future for organic cotton and if it is going to be a fast-fading fad, or a concept that will last into the far future.

            All in all, organic cotton did turn out to be a more costly concept, but a far more healthy and safe idea as a whole.  In the long run, organic cotton is not only healthier for the soil where grown, but ends up being healthier for the human body as well.  Although the IUP Co-op has recently had a limited supply of merchandise made from organic cotton, and not much success has been a result of these products, there is good reasoning behind it.  Maybe in the future there will be more acceptance and room for the idea of organic cotton products that are specifically made for the college market.  Only time will tell! 

I am writing this blog a little late, but I can still definitley reflect on the entire research writing experience.  I have to admitt the first seven pages (intro, lit review and methods sections) were not nearly as hard to pull out as I thought they were going to be.  Not to say I didn’t have any trouble writing them, but they came much faster and a little easier than I had previously expected.  One thing I have learned is that by looking at other students writing I can see what I am missing, and I can see what I have done a better job on than others.  Also I learned a lot about revisions by simply looking at the rubric Marlen gave us to grade others, and by constructing my own rubric during class for the methods section.

Next I am going to have to work on conducting my actual research, which I learned more on by talking to Marlen and the one helping teacher.  I found it very helpful to talk to other students and hear about how they are going about collecting data.  Also knowing that our participants must be held secret was a helpful note because at first I was not sure if I was going to be able to use interviews with specific people for information to help with my research.  All in all I learned a lot about how to improve and work around problems with my research and final paper by simply showing up to class!

            I really wanted to use this editorial response because I liked how un-biased the author was.  After being asked a question from a reader, the author made sure to state that she was not in any way taking sides of organic or chemically based cottons.  I think this article is really going to help me keep a straight head and not lead me astray to become an unbalanced writer.

Ecology America, Inc., (1994-2008). The Benefits of Organic vs. Chemically-Treated Cotton.      Retrieved October 9, 2008, from Eco-Mall: A Place to Save the Earth Web site:            http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/ahappy.htm

            Although this article can be closely related to a few of the other articles I pulled, I think it will still help me find new and important information that will be very helpful to my research.  After reading the article I came to find some of it was quite biased, but I then realized that I can take this information and apply it to the world by means of people viewing chemically based cotton is worse than organic cotton.  The article also explained other forms of organic goods, and how to go about changing from chemically based to an organic product.

Ewoldt, J. (2008, April 27). Green, the new black. Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), Retrieved      October 8, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

            The article explained the process of growing organic cotton and somewhat compared it to the process of growing chemically based or regular cottons.  The author explained that some manufacturers are actually promoting green apparel, when they really are not organically made.  The article suggests that consumers who want to make sure they are buying green products should read labels, and if they are in the slightest bit vague, do not buy them.  This article will help me with my project because it explained differences between organic and chemically based cotton, and it also specifically mentioned Turkey.

Green, F. (2006, May 25). What would Mother Nature — and numerous consumers — wear?. San  Diego Union-Tribune, The (CA), Retrieved October 12, 2008, from Newspaper Source   database.

            This article talked about big retailers like Wal-Mart who are promoting going green by selling organic cotton apparel.  The author explained that customers at Wal-Mart were asked if they would prefer to provide their children with all organic clothing versus conventionally clothes.  I will use the information provided in this article to show that more and more consumers are searching for organically grown products.

Groening, T. (n.d.). ‘Green’ General Store Thrives in Belfast, Maine. Bangor Daily News (ME),     Retrieved October 12, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

            In this article the author described a family owned business that opened in Maine in 1993.  The general store, selling categorically everything, only consisted of products grown organically and eco-friendly.  The author described that the townspeople of where the store first opened were very skeptical at first, but because the owners did such a good job advertising the need to grow organically, they were a huge hit.  I will be able to use information in this article to prove the benefits of growing organic cottons, and to prove that consumers do prefer organic.

Hattersley, G (2006, 04, 02). Does it Really Make Any Difference?. Sunday Times, Retrieved 10 1, 2008, from http://navigator-iup.passhe.edu

            This article is extremely relative to my research topic because the author is talking about Turkish grown organic cottons.  Along with directly talking about organic fabrics being grown in Turkey, the author also explained why organic is so much better than chemically based cottons.  I will definitely need to cite this article if not more than once in my paper because it was full of information that directly relates to my research. The author also went further into my research in finding how much farming and processing organic cottons costs.

Imhoff, D. (1995, July). Commitment and a clean switch. In Business, 17(4), 27. Retrieved           October 12, 2008, from Environment Complete database.

            I learned about how different designers and retailers are experimenting with organic cottons, wools and other fibers to see how their consumers react from this article.  The author explained that with some designers the line was a huge hit, and has stayed in the business since they began.  The author also went on to explain that with some designers the new organic cotton lines were merely just an experiment that didn’t quite work out as planned, (at least not for now).  I will be able to use this article in my research because it will help me demonstrate how organic cotton can be a hit or miss, but when it is a hit, it usually becomes a great new innovation!

Jacobs, S. (1993, February). The Organic Revolution: Natural Foods and Products Report. 1993.  Yoga Journal, Retrieved October 8, 2008, from Sport Discussion.

            Although this article was more so based towards the farming of organic products in the United States, the author still explained the negative health risks from growing conventional cotton.  This article will still be very helpful to me because I found more information on why organic cotton is so much better (in many ways) than chemically based cotton.  Most of the article was mainly focused towards foods grown with dangerous chemical sprays, but towards the end the author also picked up on the fashion apparel aspect of organics.

Nolan, K. (2006, May 8). Organic clothes grow past Woodstock crew. DSN Retailing Today,        45(9), 5-48. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from Vocational and Career Collection database.

This article was mainly about the growing fad of going organic.  In the opening sentence the author used a catchy phrase to symbolize the exciting innovation that is bringing going green into the fashion world.  I liked that the author realized that organic fashion is not as big as it may come to be, but rather is well on its way.  This article is definitely going to help me while doing my research because it talked about why people are starting to prefer organic fabrics over chemically balanced cottons.

Organic Cotton vs. Conventional: What’s the Difference?. (2008, April, 21). Green Cotton,           Retrieved October 1, 2008, from http://www.greencotton.wordpress.com

            The first thing that caught my eye for this article was that it was a wordpress post.  I am not quite sure yet whether it will be a reliable source, but the data included in it would be very helpful if it is.  This article was very unique because the author examined the work that goes into changing chemically based cottons to organic ones.  Also I noticed that the author had a good way of comparing the two types of cotton by using a table chart.

Roberts, M. (2007, August). Luxe linens. Alive: Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition,  Retrieved October 12, 2008, from Alt HealthWatch database.

            The main point of this article was to discuss the health risks related to the use of conventional cotton.  The author’s main point was to describe the benefits of parents using all organic cottons and other fabrics especially with infants and toddlers.  I will be able to use information pulled from this article to prove the health risks matched with conventionally grown cotton.

Sizemore Long, V. (2007, November 11). Shopping green requires basic knowledge as well as      environmental commitment. Kansas City Star, The (MO), Retrieved October 12, 2008,      from Newspaper Source database

            This article described the variations of eco-friendly fabrics and foods.  I was most interested in the part where the author described just how eco-friendly a fabric can be.  I will be able to use this information in my research because I found a lot out about the different levels or degrees of organically grown cottons, compared with conventionally grown.

Sustainable Cotton Project Promotes Organic Fiber Use. (2000, May). In Business, Retrieved        October 8, 2008, from Environment Complete database.

            Sustainable Cotton Project Promotes Organic Fiber Use was mainly about the marketing side of organic cottons.  It talked a lot about how organic cottons and fabrics are growing steadily in the business and marketing fields.  In specific the author explained that Nike is working towards becoming totally organic with every cotton product sold within the next 5 years.  This article is going to help me a lot with my research because it explained a lot about the supply and demand for organic cottons.

Thiry, M. (2007, May). If the Environment is Important. AATCC Review, 7(5), 21-28. Retrieved  October 12, 2008, from Textile Technology Complete database.

            This article was very informative in a few different ways.  The author made sure to point out the benefits of growing organic cotton, and the flaws of it as well.  The author also described another alternative way of growing cotton known as BASIC Cotton.  I found all of the information included to be useful, and I will definitely be able to use it in my research.

Welch, K. (2007, May 3). Growing organic. Amarillo Globe-News (TX), Retrieved October 12,    2008, from Newspaper Source database.

            This article is specifically about a group of organic farmers who raise their organic cotton, then come together to market and sell as one organization.  The article talked a lot about the pros and cons of growing organic versus conventionally grown cotton, which will really help me with my research.

Yeldell, C. (2006, May 12). The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn., retail report column. Knoxville  News-Sentinel, The (TN), Retrieved October 12, 2008, from Newspaper Source database.

            This article described how organic cotton is quickly becoming one of the most popular eco-friendly innovations created yet.  The author described different types of organic products, and noted that organic cotton and other fabrics are one of the most demanded of all by consumers.  The article specifically talked about Sharon Bible, a designer of an all organic, baby clothing line.  This article will help me with my research because I will be able to use the information to prove that consumers are becoming more and more infatuated with organic cottons and their healthy benefits!

I decided for my research I will narrow it down to specifically organic cotton factories in Turkey.  My reasoning for doing so is because I found an extremely helpful website of Egedeniz Textiles where organic fabrics are produced and it was very easy to follow and find information.  I found a few email addresses of whom I should contact with questions and I have already sent an email to someone in management.  I was alos thinking of interviewing people on campus and asking whether they bother to check if the fabric is organic or not and why/why not.  This is it for now, but I am sure I will soon be stumbling on more subjects in which I will question and collect more data from.

Before going into my meeting with Marlen I was set on doing my research paper on something dealing with the rainforests.  I have done research in my previous studies and have always been interested in the environment within them.  After meeting with him we decided the subject was far too broad, may be too hard to find specific enough information and just was not going to work.  We decided for my research that I was going to work with something within my major (which is Fashion Merch).  I narrowed it down to something with organic cottons and the factories that produce the fabrics.  I want to know what chemicals are released from the factories where organic fabrics are made and if they are even more harmful to the environment than non-organic cotton producing factories, or better/the same.  Meeting with Marlen really helped me because I was absolutley stuck on where to go with my topic, and I definitley think my new topic is more suited for me!

1) I am very curious about this topic because I know that organic cottons are better for the soil the are planted and grown in, but I wonder what bad chemicals are let out of the factories where they are made.  I am curious whether because the organic cotton plants are so much better for the soil if they are there is much more worse chemicals coming from the factories.  I’m interested in this topic because my major is Fashion Merch and it directly relates to what I am most interested in, the production of fabrics for fashion.  I chose Turkey because I am very interested in one specific company, named Egedeniz, which is located and produces right in Turkey.

2) a) I believe that factories where organic cottons are produced let out better and less chemicals that do not pollute the air nearly as bad.
b) I think that in the future soil where organic cottons are grown will be much better and will be able to be re-used for a much longer period.
c) I would like to know where the idea of organic cottons came from and why they were not discovered earilier.
d) I think that organic cottons are the future of the fashion textile industry.
e) I also think that organic cotton is the best way for the fashion industry to go green.

3) Some things that have been done already are: how much organic cotton vs regular cotton is produced per year, how organic cotton is farmed, farmlands specifically of organic cottons, and more.  My research will be different from these because I am not only studying the process of growing and farming organic cotton, but also the process of it being turned into fabric and yarn and what chemicals are released from the factories.

4) The first thing I have done was email the Egedeniz Textiles headquarters to ask them a few simple questions.  I am also going to research the growth alone of organic cottons and what kinds of pollutions are released from the factories where they are made.  I would then like to compare them a little to regular cottons.  I definitley want to narrow my research to specifically in Turkey though.

5) On the Egedeniz Textiles website I would like to publish my work because it is mainly foccused towards them.  Another place I’d like to publish is in the magazine Women’s Wear Daily because it is a womens fashion newspaper published daily, and since my topic actually relates to the fashion textiles area it would fit in fine with the magazine.  Also I would like to publish my work in the Penn since I am a student from IUP and I think the public would like to read something from the local community.  My hometown newspaper would be exciting to publish in because everyone that would read it would know me.  Lastly I would like to publish it in Textile World because my topic completely relates to the magazine in many ways.