LOS ANGELES, Calif. — American Apparel has purchased 30,000 pounds of cotton grown with fewer chemicals than conventional cotton.

The clothing retailer purchased what the Sustainable Cotton Project calls Cleaner Cotton. The Project supplies farmers strategies and tactics that have in some cases reduced pesticide use by 95 percent. On average, farmers that follow advice from the Cleaner Cotton Campaign reduce their chemical use by 73 percent in their first year.

Farmers in the Cleaner Cotton Campaign, launched in 1998 to support organic and sustainable cotton, avoid using genetically modified seeds and use natural tactics to keep pests away from crops and remove weeds.

In 2007, farmers grew 2,000 acres of Cleaner Cotton, using 7,000 pounds less of chemicals than if they did not follow the Cleaner Cotton Campaign.

The purchase American Apparel is making comes from farms in California's Central Valley.