Wal-Mart supports sustainable cotton farmers

BENTONVILLE, Ark. Wal-Mart is showing its support for organic farmers by featuring t-shirts made from transitional cotton as part of its Earth Month campaign. The retailer purchased more than 12 million pounds of transitional cotton that will arrive in stores for the first time this month under its exclusive Faded Glory brand. Additional product made with transitional cotton will appear on Wal-Mart shelves in the months ahead.

"Wal-Mart's support of transitional cotton stems from our understanding of the financial implications for farmers who adopt labor-intensive organic farming methods and complements our commitment to eco-friendly products and sustainable supplier practices," said Kim Brandner, brand manager of sustainable products for Wal-Mart. "By doing so, we are also helping our customers live better by easily being able to include 'eco-essentials' on their everyday shopping list."

Wal-Mart has purchased transitional cotton from approximately 1,000 farmers at the same premium cost of certified organic cotton, without passing along increased costs to consumers. Because this cotton is produced on fields in the process of becoming organic, chemicals may still be apparent in the soil, preventing farmers from certifying crops as organic. Farmers who have adopted organic practices typically harvest transitioning crops for up to three years. Wal-Mart's transitional cotton commitment for product arriving in the month of April alone has saved more than six tons of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides from entering the earth.