Cotton grows on low bushes in the south eastern states of the USA, Egypt, Brazil and India. It is the fluffy tufts of white fibre (bolls) that grow round the cotton seeds.
Cotton is picked, and after cleaning it is spun into thread that can be woven into cloth.
The word cotton comes from the Arabic word “quton.” The earliest production of cotton was in India, where the material dates back to the fifth millennium B.C.
The first cotton gin, which is a tool that separates the cotton fluff from the plant seeds, was invented in India in the thirteenth century. The cotton gin made the production of cotton much easier and faster, helping the fiber spread as a widely-used textile.
During the Industrial Revolution, with the invention of new technologies like the spinning jenny, spinning frame, and spinning mule, Britain became one of the leading cotton producers. All of these spinning machines allowed manufacturers to spin cotton at increased rates.
However, it was the American Eli Whitney’s invention of the mechanical cotton gin which led to increased production of the material in the United States and Europe. This new tool, which separated the seeds from the cotton quickly and efficiently using machine power, cut down the hours of manual labor needed to produce a bale of cotton from 600 hours to just 12. Around the same time, America, particularly the Southern states, began producing more high-quality cotton, as the fibers were slightly longer and stronger.
With a few occasional falls in production, such as during the Civil War, the United States is still one of the leading producers of cotton in the world, falling just behind China and India.
Credit : Masterclass
Picture Credit : Google
