April 29, 2008 - American Apparel has placed an order for 30,000 pounds of organically farmed, less-polluting cotton from California. The purchase was made in partnership with the Sustainable Cotton Project's Cleaner Cotton campaign, which works with farmers in California's Central Valley to develop profitable strategies for reducing chemical use in cotton cultivation.

Cleaner Cotton, also known as B.A.S.I.C. cotton, is farmed using methods aimed at reducing pesticides that pose the most danger to water, air, and wildlife. The Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP) says such tactics can decrease the use of pesticides by as much as 95%. Two thousand acres of Cleaner Cotton were planted last year, preventing about 7,000 pounds of chemicals from being released into the environment, according to an SCP report submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

SCP says it hopes American Apparel's decision will inspire other companies to follow suit.

In March, the U.K. banned ads from Cotton USA, an industry trade group, which referred to all American-grown cotton as "sustainable." Critics charged that conventionally produced cotton is a pesticide- and energy-intensive crop that depletes groundwater supplies.