Why we use organic cotton

Conventional cotton uses roughly 16% of the world's insecticides and 7% of its pesticides — despite being grown on just 2.4% of the world's farmland. Those numbers are hard to ignore when you're making clothes. When we started The Break Surf, we knew we wanted to make things properly. That meant thinking about the full picture — not just how a garment performs on the trail, but what went into making it. Organic cotton was the obvious starting point. GOTS-certified organic cotton is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, using methods that support soil health and reduce water consumption. The certification also covers the entire supply chain — so we know the mills processing our fabric meet the same standards. The honest truth is that organic cotton costs more. Our Boulder Tee takes a hit on margin compared to a conventional equivalent. But we'd rather make fewer things at a higher standard than flood the market with cheap kit that ends up in landfill after a season. The fabric itself is noticeably different too — it has a weight and softness that comes from not being stripped by chemicals during processing. Once you've worn a properly made organic cotton tee, it's hard to go back. We're not claiming to be perfect. There's still a long way to go in understanding the full impact of everything we make. But using organic cotton is one concrete step we can point to and say: this is better, and we can prove it.