World cotton day is an opportunity to show the whole world the role cotton is playing in jobs and the economic market. Cotton has been grown for fiber and even fuel for over 6,000 years. However, because of the industrial revolution in England, cotton was first spun by machinery there around 1730.
On the other hand, the invention of the cotton gin in the U.S.A. shown the way for the important place cotton holds in the world today.
Basically, world cotton day shows the vital role of cotton acting by giving livelihoods for millions of people and social impact around the world. The theme for World Cotton Day 2021 is ‘Cotton for Good’.
Cotton is a global commodity grown in over 75 countries across five continents worldwide. Celebrations marking the day aim to foster sustainable trade policies and to enable developing countries to benefit from every step of the cotton value chain.
This day started about 2 years ago in 2019. And the first anniversary of World Cotton day was celebrated in 2020. When first-time event launch on 7 October 2019, WHO Secretariat had organized with collaboration with the secretariats of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the ITC and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
The launch was attended by over 800 participants at the WTO headquarters, including ministers, heads of international organizations, high-level officials. So, it served as a key opportunity for participants to share knowledge and showcase cotton-related activities and products.
There is a reason behind the importance of cotton and make a special to spread about this. Because we used a lot of cotton made products. Our clothes, sheets, and towels, etc are made from cotton.
But cotton is also used to make things like rope, U.S. currency, paper, cooking oil, animal feed, packaging, and biofuels. Cotton is soft, absorbent, and breathable and it keeps cool human body while doing works.
Cotton breathes, keeping you cooler during even the hottest days. It is easier to wash and care for than other fabrics. And also Cotton breathes and absorbs moisture, keeps dry and lowers the risk of yeast infection.
So, cotton is important to least develop, developing, and developed economies worldwide. The cotton day will serve to shed light on the challenges faced by cotton growers across the world.
When cotton production is environmentally harmful discovered, people started thinking about alternatives. The issue of creating a cost-effective recycling technology for cotton to be sustainable is now becoming increasingly important.
The production of cotton fibers involves a huge volume and maintain the stability of natural resource. Conventionally-grown cotton is bad for the environment because of its high water consumption and pollution, soil degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers.
Organic cotton is grown using materials and methods that lower its impact on the environment. So organic cotton is a fantastic sustainable alternative to commonly-grown crops. These eco-friendly production systems focus on maintaining soil fertility and don’t involve any toxic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and harmful chemicals. This also removes the risk of allergies.
Cotton is also eco-friendly as it biodegrades quickly compared to other synthetic alternatives, decreasing the number of plastics entering our waterways and helping to keep our oceans clean.
So, the celebrations of the cotton day aim is to promote sustainable trade policies marking and to enable developing countries to benefit from every step of the cotton value chain.
The national cotton producers, textile associations, cotton-processing industries, universities and research institutions organize events at the local level to promote their work and activities.
The day is also a chance for the cotton community to arrange field visits, organize award ceremonies, share knowledge on cotton through social media campaigns and participate in media events.
And World Cotton day also gives recognition and exposure to cotton and all related stakeholders in production and trade and coordinates with donors & beneficiaries and strengthens development assistance for cotton.
