What does organic mean? The word organic has different meanings. But when we talk about organic food or clothing, it means they have been grown on farms without using human-made chemicals. Some human-made chemicals used to grow food and cotton pollute our air, water, and soil. This pollution makes people, animals, and plants sick or even die. For most of human history, farmers never used dangerous chemicals. As people learn about the dangers of chemicals, more and more farmers today are returning to organic farming.

Go organic at home. Most people have powerful chemicals in their homes for cleaning and gardening. Take some time to walk around your home to look for human-made chemicals or things made with them. Make a list (it might be very long). There are safe, natural ways to clean and garden without using dangerous chemicals. And safe alternative products are sold in most grocery stores. Make a plan for reducing the human-made chemicals in your home. Talk about it with the other members of your family.

Organic cotton clothing. Many of the things we wear, like jeans and T-shirts, are made with cotton from the cotton plant. Cotton is one of the most important crops in the world. About 1/4 of farming pollution worldwide comes from cotton farms! Wise farmers are learning to grow cotton without chemicals. And people are learning why it is important to wear organic clothing.