Egyptian cotton

Cotton is the most widely used known fiber. There is evidence that cotton was cultivated in Egypt around 12,000 B.C. and in India around 3,000 B.C. Cotton was native to North and South America, as well as Asia and Africa, and there is evidence that cotton fabrics were produced in Peru around 2,500 B.C.

Many countries grow cotton, including Russia and the United States. The word “cotton” is derived from the Arabic word ‘quoton’ or “qutun.”

The cotton plant belongs to the mallow family, and there are several species. It thrives best in warm, humid climates with wet and dry seasons and blooms about 100 days after sowing. The pretty flower dies after two days, leaving behind the seed pod, which bursts open 50–80 days after flowering, revealing the fluffy cotton fibers that can then be picked. The flowers appear over a long period, resulting in a long harvest/picking season.

Originally, cotton was picked by hand; today it is harvested by machine, although some of the high-quality cotton is still picked by hand. The picked cotton is ginned (passed through a gin) to separate the cotton fibers from the seeds, and then graded. Cotton fibers are white, short, non-stringy, and uniform, more so than other plant fibers.