Cotton ready for harvest.
Picking cotton in
Georgia, USA, in 1943.
'Cotton' is a soft
fiber that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant (''
Gossypium'' sp.), a
shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the
Americas,
India, and
Africa. However, virtually all of the commercial cotton grown today worldwide is grown from varieties of the native American species ''
Gossypium hirsutum'' and ''
Gossypium barbadense''. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable
textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today. The
English name derives from the
Arabic ''(al) qutn'' قُطْن, meaning "cotton". (The
Spanish word ''algodón'' has the same
etymology.)
Cotton fiber, once it has been processed to remove seeds and traces of honey, protein, etc., consists of nearly purr less of the weight is lost in subsequent processing to convert the raw cotton bolls (seed cases) into pure fiber. The cellulose is arranged in a way that gives cotton fibers a high degree of strength, durability, and absorbency. Each fiber is made up of twenty to thirty layers of cellulose coiled in a neat series of natural springs. When the cotton boll is opened, the fibers dry into flat, twisted, ribbon-like shapes and become kinked together and interlocked. This interlocked form is ideal for
spinning into a fine
yarn.
Leading cotton-producing countries
As of 2007
[1], the seven largest producers of cotton in the world are (1)
China, (2)
India, (3) the
United States, (4)
Pakistan, (5)
Brazil, (6)
Uzbekistan and (7)
Turkey.
The five leading
exporters are (1) the
United States, (2)
Uzbekistan, (3)
India, (4)
Brazil, and (5)
Burkina Faso. The biggest non-producing
importers are
Bangladesh,
Indonesia,
Thailand,
Russia and
Taiwan.
In the United States, the state of
Texas leads in total production while the state of
California has the highest
yield per acre in the world.
Cultivation
Successful cultivation of cotton requires a long
frost-free period, plenty of sunshine and a moderate rainfall, usually from 600 to 1200mm (24 to 48
inches).
Soils usually need to be fairly heavy, though the level of
nutrients does not need to be exceptional. In general, these conditions are met within the seasonally dry tropics and subtropics in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, but a large proportion of the cotton grown today is cultivated in areas with less rainfall that obtain the water from irrigation. Production of the crop for a given year usually starts soon after harvesting the preceding autumn. Planting time in spring in the Northern hemisphere varies from the beginning of February to the beginning of June. The area of the
United States known as the
South Plains is the largest contiguous cotton-growing region in the world. It is heavily dependent on
irrigation water drawn from the
Ogallala Aquifer.
Cotton is a thirsty crop, and as
water resources get tighter around the world, economies that rely on it face difficulties and conflict, as well as potential environmental problems. For example, cotton has led to
desertification in areas of
Uzbekistan, where it is a major export. In the days of the
Soviet Union, the
Aral Sea was tapped for agricultural irrigation, largely of cotton, and now
salination is widespread.
Genetically modified cotton
Genetically modified (GM) cotton was developed to reduce the heavy reliance on pesticides. GM cotton is widely used throughout the world with claims of requiring up to 80% less
pesticide than ordinary cotton. The
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) said that worldwide GM cotton was planted on an area of 67,000 km² in 2002. This is 20% of the worldwide total area planted in cotton. The U.S. cotton crop was 73% GM in 2003.
The initial introduction of GM cotton proved to be a commercial disaster in
Australia - the yields were far lower than predicted, and the cotton plants were cross-pollinated with other varieties of cotton. However, the introduction of a second variety of GM cotton led to 15% of Australian cotton being GM in 2003. 80% of the crop was genetically modified in 2004, when the original variety was banned.
History
Cotton has been used to make very fine lightweight
cloth in areas with tropical climates for millennia. Evidence has been found of cotton in
Mexican caves (cotton cloth and fragments of bloody fiber interwoven with
feathers and
fur) dating back approximately 7,000 years. There is clear archaeological evidence that people in
India and
South America domesticated different species of cotton independently thousands of years ago.
Cotton cultivation in the
Old World began from
India, where cotton has been grown for more than 6,000 years, since the
pre-Harappan period. Cotton from the
Harappan civilization was exported to
Mesopotamia during the 3rd millennium BC,
[1] and cotton was soon known to the
Egyptians as well. The famous
Greek historian
Herodotus also wrote about Indian cotton: "There are trees which grow wild there, the fruit of which is a
wool exceeding in beauty and goodness that of
sheep. The Indians make their clothes of this tree wool." (Book III. 106)
In
Peru, cotton was the backbone of the development of coastal cultures such as the
Moche and
Nazca. Cotton was grown upriver, made into nets and traded with fishing villages along the coast for large supplies of fish. The Spanish who came to
Mexico in the early 1500s found the people growing cotton and wearing clothing made of it.
During the late
medieval period, cotton became known as an
imported fiber in northern
Europe, without any knowledge of what it came from other than that it was a
plant; noting its similarities to wool, people in the region could only imagine that cotton must be produced by plant-borne sheep.
John Mandeville, writing in
1350, stated as fact the now-preposterous belief: "There grew there [India] a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the endes of its branches. These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are hungrie." (See
Vegetable Lamb of Tartary.) This aspect is retained in the name for cotton in many European languages, such as
German ''Baumwolle'', which translates as "tree wool". By the end of the 16th century, cotton was cultivated throughout the warmer regions in
Asia and the
Americas.
India's cotton-processing sector gradually declined during
British expansion in India and the establishment of
colonial rule during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This was largely due to the
East India Company's de-industrialization of India, which forced the closing of cotton processing and manufacturing workshops in India, to ensure that Indian markets supplied only raw materials and were obliged to purchase manufactured textiles from Britain.
The advent of the
Industrial Revolution in Britain provided a great boost to cotton manufacture, as textiles emerged as Britain's leading export. In
1738 Lewis Paul and
John Wyatt, of
Birmingham England, patented the Roller Spinning machine and the flyer-and-bobbin system, for drawing cotton to a more even thickness, using two sets of rollers that travelled at different speeds, later the invention of the
spinning jenny in
1764 and
Richard Arkwright's
spinning frame (based on the Roller Spinning Machine) in
1769 enabled British weavers to produce cotton yarn and cloth at much higher rates. From the late eighteenth century onwards, the
British city of
Manchester acquired the nickname ''"
Cottonopolis"'' due to the cotton industry's omnipresence within the city, and Manchester's role as the heart of the global cotton trade. Production capacity was further improved by the invention of the
cotton gin by
Eli Whitney in
1793. Improving technology and increasing control of world markets allowed British traders to develop a commercial chain in which raw cotton fibers were (at first) purchased from colonial plantations, processed into cotton
cloth in the mills of
Lancashire, and then re-exported on British ships to captive colonial markets in
West Africa,
India, and
China (via
Shanghai and
Hong Kong).
By the
1840s, India was no longer capable of supplying the vast quantities of cotton fibers needed by mechanised British factories, while shipping bulky, low-price cotton from India to Britain was time-consuming and expensive. This, coupled with the emergence of American cotton as a superior type (due to the longer, stronger fibers of the two domesticated native American species, ''
Gossypium hirsutum'' & ''
Gossypium barbadense'') encouraged British traders to purchase cotton from slave plantations in the
United States and the
Caribbean. Due to the enormous quantities of raw cotton required to make cheap bulk exports, British
industrialists quickly abandoned expensive raw cotton produced in
India in favor of mass-produced cotton from the southern
United States, which was much cheaper as it was produced by unpaid
slaves. By the mid 19th century, "
King Cotton" had become the backbone of the southern American economy. In the
United States, cultivating and harvesting cotton became the leading occupation of
slaves.
During the
American Civil War, American cotton exports slumped due to a
Union blockade on
Southern ports, prompting the main purchasers of cotton,
Britain and
France, to turn to
Egyptian cotton. British and French traders invested heavily in cotton plantations and the Egyptian government of
Viceroy Isma'il took out substantial loans from European bankers and stock exchanges. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, British and French traders abandoned Egyptian cotton and returned to cheap American exports, sending Egypt into a
deficit spiral that led to the country declaring
bankruptcy in
1876, a key factor behind Egypt's annexation by the
British Empire in
1882.
Picking cotton in Oklahoma in the 1890s
During this time cotton cultivation in the
British Empire, especially India, greatly increased to replace the lost production of the American South which had been the main supplier to the English mills. Through tariffs and other restrictions the British government discouraged the production of cotton cloth in India; rather the raw fiber was sent to England for processing. The Indian patriot
Gandhi described the process:
#English people buy Indian cotton in the field, picked by Indian labor at seven cents a day, through an optional monopoly.
#This cotton is shipped on British bottoms, a three weeks journey across the Indian Ocean, down the Red Sea, across the Mediterranean, through Gibraltar, across the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean to London. One hundred per cent profit on this freight is regarded as small.
#The cotton is turned into cloth in Lancashire. You pay shilling wages instead of Indian pennies to your workers. The English worker not only has the advantage of better wages, but the steel companies of England get the profit of building the factories and machines. Wages; profits; all these are spent in England.
#The finished product is sent back to India at European shipping rates, once again on British ships. The captains, officers, sailors of these ships, whose wages must be paid, are English. The only Indians who profit are a few lascars who do the dirty work on the boats for a few cents a day.
#The cloth is finally sold back to the kings and landlords of India who got the money to buy this expensive cloth out of the poor peasants of India who worked at seven cents a day. (Fisher 1932 pp 154-156)
In the
United States, cotton remained a key crop in the southern economy after
emancipation and the end of the civil war in
1865. Across the South,
sharecropping evolved, in which free black farmers worked on white-owned cotton plantations in return for a share of the profits (although in reality, the system was little changed from the days of slavery). Cotton plantations required vast labor forces to hand-pick cotton fibers, and it was not until the 1950s that reliable harvesting machinery was introduced into the South (prior to this, cotton-harvesting machinery had been too clumsy to pick cotton without shredding the fibers). During the early
twentieth century, employment in the cotton industry fell as machines began to replace labourers, and as the South's rural labor force dwindled during the First and Second World Wars. Today, cotton remains a major export of the southern United States, and a majority of the world's annual cotton crop is of the long-staple American variety.
Pests and weeds
The cotton industry relies heavily on chemicals such as
fertilizers and
insecticides, although a very small number of farmers are moving towards an
organic model of production and organic cotton products are now available for purchase at limited locations. These are popular for baby clothes and
diapers. Under most definitions, organic products do not use
genetic engineering.
Hoeing a cotton field to remove weeds, Greene County, Georgia, USA, 1941
Historically, in North America, one of the most economically destructive pests in cotton production has been the
boll weevil. Due to the
US Department of Agriculture's highly successful
Boll Weevil Eradication Program (BWEP), this pest has been eliminated from cotton in most of the United States. This program, along with the introduction of genetically engineered "
Bt cotton" (which contains a bacteria gene that codes for a plant-produced protein that is toxic to a number of pests such as tobacco budworm, cotton bollworm and pink bollworm), has allowed a reduction in the use of synthetic insecticides.
Mechanised harvesting
Offloading freshly harvested cotton into a module builder in Texas. Previously built modules may be seen in the background.
Most cotton in the United States, Europe and Australia is harvested mechanically, either by a
cotton picker, a machine that removes the cotton from the boll without damaging the cotton plant, or by a cotton stripper, which strips the entire boll off the plant. Cotton strippers are used in regions where it is too windy to grow picker varieties of cotton, and usually after application of a chemical
defoliant or the natural defoliation that occurs after a freeze. Cotton is a perennial crop in the tropics and without defoliation or freezing, the plant will continue to grow.
The logistics of cotton harvesting and processing have been improved by the development of the
cotton module builder, a machine that compresses harvested cotton into a large block, which is then covered with a tarp and temporarily stored at the edge of the field. Additionally, in August 2007,
John Deere introduced a self-propelled cotton picker that rolls the harvested cotton into round modules similar to
round bales of hay. The rolls are automatically wrapped in a protective film and deposited at the edge of the field. This integrates the module builder with the cotton picker, making a machine that roughly equates to a
combine harvester, allowing for continuous harvesting.
[2]
Cotton continues to be picked by hand in poor countries such as
Uzbekistan.
[3]
Research and promotion
Beginning as a self-help program in the mid-1960s, the Cotton Research & Promotion Program was organized by U.S. cotton producers in response to cotton's steady decline in market share. At that time, producers voted to set up a per-bale assessment system to fund the program, with built-in safeguards to protect their investments. With the passage of the Cotton Research & Promotion Act of 1966, the program joined forces and began battling synthetic competitors and re-establishing markets for cotton. Today, the success of this program has made cotton the best-selling fiber in the U.S. and one of the best-selling fibers in the world.
Administered by the Cotton Board and conducted by Cotton Incorporated, the Cotton Research & Promotion Program works to greatly increase the demand for and profitability of cotton through various research and promotion activities. It is funded by U.S. cotton producers and importers.
Uses
Cotton is used to make a number of textile products. These include
terrycloth, used to make highly absorbent bath towels and robes;
denim, used to make
blue jeans;
chambray, popularly used in the manufacture of blue work shirts (from which we get the term "
blue-collar"); and
corduroy,
seersucker, and cotton
twill.
Socks,
underwear, and most
T-shirts are made from cotton. Bed sheets are often made from cotton. Cotton is also used to make yarn used in
crochet and
knitting. Fabric can also be made from recycled or recovered cotton that would otherwise be thrown away during the spinning, weaving or cutting process. While many fabrics are made completely of cotton, some materials blend cotton with other fibers, including
rayon and
synthetic fibers such as
polyester.
In addition to the
textile industry, cotton is used in
fishnets,
coffee filters,
tents,
gunpowder (see
Nitrocellulose),
cotton paper and in
bookbinding. The first Chinese
paper was made of cotton fiber.
Fire hoses were once made of cotton.
The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce
cottonseed oil, which after refining can be consumed by humans like any other
vegetable oil. The
cottonseed meal that is left is generally fed to livestock. In the past, cotton seeds were used as an
abortifacient, that is, a
folk remedy to provoke abortion.
Cotton linters are fine, silky fibers which adhere to the seeds of the cotton plant after ginning. These curly fibers are typically less than 1/8in, 3mm long. The term may also apply to the longer textile fiber staple lint as well as the shorter fuzzy fibers from some upland species. Linters are traditionally used in the manufacture of paper and as a raw material in the manufacture of
cellulose.
'Shiny cotton' is a processed version of the fiber that can be made into cloth resembling
satin for shirts and suits. However, its hydrophobic property of not easily taking up water makes it unfit for the purpose of bath and dish towels (although examples of these made from shiny cotton are seen.)
The term 'Egyptian cotton' is usually applied to the extra long staple cotton produced in Egypt and favored for the luxury and upmarket brands worldwide. In fact, the cotton species which produces extra long staple "Egyptian" cotton is the native American species
Gossypium barbadense, also known today as American Pima cotton, which was introduced by
Mohammad Ali Pasha in the 19th century. During the
U.S. Civil War, with heavy European investments, Egyptian-grown cotton became a major alternate source for British textile mills. Most of what is labeled "Egyptian cotton" today, however, also includes long staple cotton, the product of the other native American species ''
Gossypium hirsutum''
[2]. The
ancient Egyptians made their clothing from
linen, a product of the
flax plant.
In South Asia, cotton is widely used in mattresses, which are the most common type of mattress used in that region.
The international cotton trade
Cottonseed output in 2005
The United States, with sales of $4.9 billion, and Africa, with sales of $2.1 billion, are the largest exporters of raw cotton. Total international trade is $12 billion. Africa's share of the cotton trade has doubled since 1980. Neither area has a significant domestic textile industry, textile manufacturing having moved to developing nations in Eastern and South Asia such as India and China. In Africa cotton is grown by numerous small holders. Dunavant Enterprises, based in
Memphis, Tennessee, is the leading cotton broker in Africa with hundreds of purchasing agents. It operates
cotton gins in Uganda, Mozambique and Zambia. In Zambia it often offers loans for seed and expenses to the 180,000 small farmers who grow cotton for it, as well as advice on farming methods.
Cargill also purchases cotton in Africa for export.
The 25,000 cotton growers in the United States are heavily
subsidized at the rate of $2 billion per year. The future of these subsidies is uncertain and has led to anticipatory expansion of cotton brokers' operations in Africa. Dunavant expanded in Africa by buying out local operations. This is only possible in former British colonies and Mozambique; former French colonies continue to maintain tight monopolies, inherited from their former colonialist masters, on cotton purchases at low fixed prices.
[4]
Uzbekistan produces a large amount of cotton.
Fair trade
Cotton is an enormously important commodity throughout the world. However, many farmers in developing countries receive a low price for their produce, or find it difficult to compete with developed countries.
This has led to an international dispute:
On 27 September 2002 Brazil requested consultations with the US regarding prohibited and actionable subsidies provided to US producers, users and/or exporters of upland cotton, as well as legislation, regulations, statutory instruments and amendments thereto providing such subsidies (including export credits), grants, and any other assistance to the US producers, users and exporters of upland cotton.[5]
On
8 September 2004, the Panel Report recommended that the United States "withdraw" export credit guarantees and payments to domestic user and exporters, and "take appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or withdraw" the mandatory price-contingent subsidy measures.
[6]
In addition to concerns over subsidies, the cotton industries of some countries are criticized for employing child labor and damaging workers' health by exposure to pesticides used in production. For example, cotton production in
Uzbekistan has been described as one of the most exploitative industries in the world.
[7] The international production and trade situation has led to '
fair trade' cotton clothing and footwear, joining a rapidly growing market for organic clothing, fair fashion or 'ethical fashion'. The fair trade system was initiated in 2005 with producers from
Cameroon,
Mali and
Senegal.
[8]
Organic cotton
Organic cotton is cotton that is grown without insecticide or pesticide. Cotton is the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world, accounting for 25% of the world's pesticides. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of these from cotton farming. Organic agriculture uses methods that are ecological, economical, and socially sustainable and denies the use of agrochemicals and artificial fertilizers. In stead, organic agriculture uses crop rotation, the cropping of different crops than cotton. The use of insecticides is prohibited; organic agriculture uses natural enemies to suppress harmful insects. The production of organic cotton is more expensive than the production of conventional cotton. Although toxic pollution from synthetic chemicals is eliminated, other pollution-like problems may remain, particularly run-off. Organic cotton is produced in organic agricultural systems that produce food and fiber according to clearly established standards. Organic agriculture prohibits the use of toxic and persistent chemical pesticides and fertilizers, as well as genetically modified organisms. It seeks to build biologically diverse agricultural systems, replenish and maintain soil fertility, and promote a healthy environment.
Critical temperatures
★ Favorable travel temperature range - no lower limit =< 77°F (25°C)
★ Optimum travel temperature - 68°F (20°C)
★ Glow temperature - 401°F (205°C)
★
Fire point - 410°F (210°C)
★
Autoignition temperature - 765°F (407°C)
★
Autoignition temperature (for oily cotton) - 248°F (120°C)
Cotton dries out, becomes hard and brittle and loses all elasticity at temperatures above 25°C. Extended exposure to light causes similar problems.
A temperature range of 25°C to 35°C is the optimal range for mold development. At temperatures below 0°C, rotting of wet cotton stops. Damaged cotton is sometimes stored at these temperatures to prevent further deterioration.
[9]
Old British cotton yarn measures
★ 1 thread = 54 inches (about 137 cm)
★ 1 skein or rap = 80 threads (120 yards or about 109 m)
★ 1 hank = 7 skeins (840 yards or about 768 m)
★ 1 spindle = 18 hanks (15,120 yards or about 13,826 m)
Properties of cotton fibers
| Property | Evaluation |
|---|
| Shape | Fairly uniform in width, 12-20 microns; length varies from ½ to 2½ inches; typical length is ⅞ to 1¼ inches. |
| Luster | low |
Tenacity (strength)
Dry
Wet |
3.0-5.0 g/d
3.3-6.0 g/d |
| Resiliency | low |
| Density | 1.54/1.56 g/ccm |
Moisture absorption
raw:conditioned
saturation
mercerized: conditioned
saturation |
8.5%
15-25%
8.5-10.3%
15-27%+ |
| Dimensional stability | good |
Resistance to
acids
alkali
organic solvents
sunlight
microorganisms
insects
|
damage, weaken fibers
resistant; no harmful effects
high resistance to most
Prolonged exposure weakens fibers.
Mildew and rot-producing bacteria damage fibers.
Silverfish damage fibers. |
Thermal reactions
to heat
to flame | Decomposes after prolonged exposure to temperatures of 150˚C or over.
Burns readily. |
See also
★
Organic cotton
★
Sea Island Cotton
★
Memphis Cotton Exchange
★
Cotton gin
★
New Orleans Cotton Exchange
★
New York Cotton Exchange
★
The Cotton Museum
★
Cotton mill
★
Mercerized cotton
★
BBCH-scale (cotton)
★ Textile manufacturing-
Machine processing of cotton
References
1. Srinivasan Kalyanaraman (2006). ''Bronze Age Trade and Writing System of Meluhha'' (p. 8).
2. "John Deere Launches the 7760 Self-propelled Cotton Picker", Deere & Company, Lenexa, Kansas, http://www.deere.com/en_US/newsroom/2007/releases/farmersandranchers/082307_7760picker.html, 1996-2007
3. Craig Murray. ''Murder in Samarkand - A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror''. ISBN 978-1845961947. 2006.
4. "Out of Africa: Cotton and Cash", article by G. Pascal Zachary in the New York Times, January 14, 2007
5. United States — Subsidies on Upland Cotton, http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds267_e.htm, World Trade Organization, accessed October 2, 2006
6. United States - Subsidies on Upland Cotton, http://docsonline.wto.org/DDFDocuments/t/WT/DS/267R.doc, World Trade Organization, accessed October 2, 2006
7. White Gold - the true cost of cotton, http://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/white_gold_the_true_cost_of_cotton.pdf, Environmental Justice Foundation, accessed August 24, 2007
8. Market: Cotton, http://r0.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/cotton/market.htm#fair, UNCTAD, accessed October 2, 2006
9. Transportation Information Service of Germany, Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft e.V. (GDV), Berlin, http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/fasern/baumwoll/baumwoll.htm, 2002-2006
★ Fisher, F.B., 1932 ''That Strange Little Brown Man Gandhi'', New York : Ray Long & Richard Smith, Inc.,
★
USDA - Cotton Trade
External links
★
FACTS and FIGURES of Cotton Trade 2007---PBS
History and uses
★
Glossary of cotton terms
★
Naturally colored cotton
★
Plant Cultures - History and botany of cotton
★
Spinning the web - Cotton in the UK's Industrial Revolution
★
UNCTAD Information on Cotton
★
Cotton production in the U.S. South (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
Markets and trade associations
★
The Seam
★
Agricultural Marketing Service
★
USDA AMS - Market News Reports - Cotton Reports
★
Cotton Board - U.S. Cotton Research and Promotion Program
★
American Cotton Shippers Association
★
Cotton Foundation
★
International Cotton Advisory Committee
★
International Cotton Association
★
National Cotton Council News and Current Events
★
National Council of Textile Organizations
★
Plains Cotton Cooperative Association
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