Generally, cotton is defined as a soft fluffy, staple fiber. When it grows it appears as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant. Unlike wool which is gotten from animal, cotton fabric is gotten from plant source. The cotton plant is common in tropical and subtropical regions of the earth like the Americas, India and Africa. The cotton fiber is spun into yarn to make textiles which are soft and breathable. Cotton fiber is the most common these days in the textile world for making garments.

The cultivation of cotton started about seven thousand years ago by the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization in India. This brought about the development of cotton industry in India. As time went on, the use of cotton fiber spread from India to the Mediterranean and to other parts of the world.

But during the British expansion in India, the cotton processing sector of India declined, which also reduced the dominance of India in the manufacturing of cotton fiber. This led to the uncompetitive condition of processing and manufacturing workshops in India. This was because British law forbade India from manufacturing cotton materials. They only exported raw cotton and were forced to buy cotton materials from Britain. Before long, cotton fabrics became Britain’s leading export.

The availability of African slaves also boosted the production of the cotton fabric in Britain; they were also able to manufacture spinning machines which were able to boost their cotton fabric production. The finished cotton fabrics were sent back to Europe and India on British ship.

As time went on, the United States too had their chunk of the cake in cotton fabric manufacturing and exportation. They were able to grow cotton and it soon became a major export of the southern United State, thanks to the availability of slaves from West Africa.

Cotton cultivation requires plenty of sunshine and a moderate rainfall. It also require heavy soil, without exceptional amount nutrient

There is the occurrence of non-genetically modified cotton called organic cotton. This is the type that is grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals like fertilizers or pesticides. This type helps to promote and enhance biodiversity and biological cycles.
Cotton is used to make various fabrics like towel, which is very absorbent. It is the fabric used in making the blue denim jeans, robes and various other textile products.

Another great part of the cotton product is that it can be recycled to make another cotton product. But some fabrics are made from a combination of cotton and other material with which it is blended; examples of such materials are rayon, and synthetic fibers such as polyester. Cotton can be blended with elastine to make a stretchier thread for knitted fabrics.