The textiles industry is revolting. It causes 10% of the planet’s carbon footprint, while the dyeing and treatment of textiles is responsible for 17% of all industrial water pollution. Cotton uses 3% of global water, and the damage from cotton farming is $83bn. This eco cost is partially offset by longevity: a bath sheet should be in service for 10 years. I’m serious. So I was distressed to hear that 4,000 Wimbledon towels had been nicked as souvenirs by players. I make an appeal to Djokovic, Williams, Murray et al: please keep them towels in service.

Every time you make a purchasing decision, you’re also making a production decision, so when you come to replace towels and bed linen, go for organic. Currently, just 1% of the world’s cotton is organic. Let’s get that higher. Growing organic cotton is a far more responsible use of farmable land and fresh water, than conventional. The Textile Exchange surveyed 82,000 hectares of land in 2014 and found reduced global-warming potential, lower soil erosion, less water use and less energy demand from organic, as opposed to conventional, cotton growers.

A good project can lead to change for farming communities. The Chetna Organic coalition in India unites 20 brands collaborating with 7,000 organic and Fairtrade cotton farmers (it started with 200). The fruits of these looms are available at ethicalshop.org in the UK. There’s a good range of organic bed and bath linens certified by Gots (global organic textile standard) at greenfibres.co.uk.

I can get emotional about cotton towels (so can US brand Boll & Branch, whose blog features polemics such as “the truth about thread counts”). This is because conventional cotton represents the worst of globalisation, but organic cotton could be transformative, connecting us to the farmers of Burkina Faso or Gujurat and making a huge difference in their lives. Not many everyday products offer that promise.

The big picture: The Commonality of Strangers

Facebook Twitter Pinterest We are the world: from The Commonality of Strangers. Photograph: Mahtab Hussain

Two years ago, photographer Mahtab Hussain set out to capture the experiences of migrants to Britain. He walked through Nottingham and got to know and take pictures of immigrants from Algeria, Ghana, Iraq, Malawi, Sudan and Europe. He documented his sitters’ histories, aspirations in the UK and the stories of how their lives had changed. The day after Britons voted to leave the EU, the exhibition of this work, The Commonality of Strangers, opened in Favara, Sicily (until November). It’s extremely topical…

Well dressed: Toms + Charlize Theron’s Africa Outreach Project

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Good step forward: with the One for One system, you give when you buy. Photograph: Hagop Kalaidjian/BFA

Toms, the socially conscious alpargata shoe brand beloved of hipsters, is now 10. It pioneered a famous One for One business model: you buy shoes, and a pair of shoes is donated to kids in a developing country to protect them from picking up parasites and disease. Critics claim that it stifles local footwear industries where donations are made. But over the last decade Toms has sold millions of pairs, and therefore donated millions of pairs. It is one of few sustainable fashion brands that has made that enviable journey from ‘worthy’ to ‘wanted’ (many of those who buy them just like the shoes).

And in honour of being 10, Toms brings us a special collection developed with actor and activist Charlize Theron. For every pair of shoes or backpack (a first for them) sold, €5 goes to Theron’s great Africa Outreach Project, which funds HIV prevention in Africa. Shoes from £26, and backpack from £60, toms.co.uk. Also visit charlizeafricaoutreach.org.

Email Lucy at lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @lucysiegle