Cotton Fabric

Cotton is the most prevalent fiber in the world. Renowned for its breathability, strength and versatility, cotton has helped shape the history of the world by clothing and protecting countless civilizations and adventurers from the effects of nature. Derived in name from the Arabic “qutn”, cotton grows in a round boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a thorned shrub belonging to the Malvaceae family of the genus Gossypium. Cotton is believed to have been first cultivated and spun by the Indus Valley Civilization around 4,000 B.C. Well before the emergence of Christianity, the manufacture of cotton was widespread throughout India and the Mediterranean. Arab traders introduced fine cotton fabrics to Italy and Spain the in 1st century, and the Moors brought cotton production to Spain in the 9th century. Cotton reached the shores of England in the 1600s, as the East India Company began importing delicate textiles from India. India fell from prominence in cotton production by the