Brazil produced Rounding out the top five is Pakistan, which grew 8. Global trade reached China was the largest importer in the world this past season, bringing in 9.
Vietnam imported 7 million bales this year, followed by Bangladesh, with 6. Rounding out the top five, Indonesia brought in 3 million bales this year, while Pakistan imported 2. Environment Our image of Africa is that of a continent with unique scenery and exotic wildlife.
The rich and varied flora and fauna are some of the …. Advancement of Women The improvement of living conditions in sub-Saharan Africa is directly linked to the advancement of women. Women do a…. Wear a smile with…Elikana Shilinde Elikana Shilinde, from the village of Nyamisagusa in Tanzania, decided to grow CmiA Organic cotton four years ago and is convinced that he made the right call for himself and his family.
Shopfinder Find textiles bearing the CmiA label. Becoming a Partner Join a successful network for sustainable cotton. Become a partner. Media Library Your hub for all news, photos, and reports. Media Library. By the fourteenth century, Mediterranean farmers were cultivating the cotton plant and shipping the fiber to the Netherlands for spinning and weaving. British innovations in the late s include water-powered spinning machinery, a monumental improvement over hand-spinning.
An American named Samuel Slater, who worked with British machinery, memorized the plans for a machine spinner and returned to Rhode Island to set up Slater Mill, the first American textile mill to utilize machine spinners.
This mill represents the beginning of the U. Industrial Revolution, built on the mechanism of the cotton industry. Two developments spurred the cultivation of American cotton: cotton spinners and the cotton gin. The cotton gin, developed by Eli Whitney in , easily removed tenacious cottonseeds.
Southern plantation owners began planting cotton as a result of these innovations, using enslaved labor for harvesting the cotton. Vigorous cotton cultivation in the South using enslaved labor is considered one reason for friction between North and South that led to the Civil War.
Southern cotton was shipped to New England mills in huge quantities. As a result of machine spinning, weaving, and printing, Americans could cheaply purchase calico and it became universally worn. However, labor costs were significant in New England.
Mill owners found ways to reduce those costs, first by employing women and immigrants who were often paid poorly, then by employing young children in the factories. After oppressive labor practices were largely halted, many factories moved to the South where labor was cheaper. Unionizing efforts affected the profits of those mills. Today, a fair amount of cotton is woven outside the United States where labor is less costly.
Polyester, a synthetic, is often used along with cotton, but has little chance of supplanting the natural fiber. The materials required to take cotton bolls to spun cotton include cottonseeds for planting; pesticides, such as insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides, to battle disease and harmful insects; and fertilizers to enrich the soil.
There are agricultural requirements for growing cotton in the United States. Cotton has a long growing season it can be as long as seven months so it is best to plant cotton early—February in Texas but as late as June in northern cotton-growing states such as Missouri. Cotton should not be planted before the sun has warmed the soil. It performs best in well-drained, crumbly soils that can hold moisture. Good cotton crops require a long, sunny growing season with at least frost-free days and high moisture levels resulting from rainfall or irrigation during the growing season.
This type of cotton is the most widely-produced form of this textile crop. Over the years, traders have exported this type of cotton to practically every location throughout the world, and it grows well in practically any climate.
Gossypium hirsutum is a short-staple SS cotton fiber, which means that it is not as high-quality as other forms of this textile fiber. Gossypium barbadense is an extra-long-staple ELS cotton variety, which means that it consists of longer cotton fibers that produce softer and more luxurious textiles.
This ELS cotton variation is native to South America, and it has been exported to a variety of locations throughout the world. For instance, Pima cotton is a form of Gossypium barbadense, and producers cultivate this type of cotton in China, India, and other foreign nations. While most types of cotton grow on small bushes, Gossypium arboretum grows on larger bushes that could almost be considered to be trees.
This type of cotton accounts for less than 2 percent of global production. Also known as Levant cotton, this type of fiber is native to Africa and Arabia, and it contributes less than 2 percent to global cotton cultivation.
Short-staple SS cotton is any type of cotton that consists of fibers that are up to 1. Long-staple LS cotton is any type of cotton that consists of fibers that are between 1. This type of cotton is somewhat more luxurious than SS cotton.
Extra-long staple ELS cotton is any type of cotton that consists of fibers that are longer than 1. ELS cotton is the most luxurious and soft type of cotton in existence. Giza 45 cotton, for instance, is over 45 millimeters 1. Pima cotton is a type of ELS cotton that was created through a partnership between the U. It is considered to be one of the most durable forms of cotton.
Cotton production is inherently non-impactful on the environment. However, the practices that manufacturers use to make cotton may be harmful to the environment.
Cotton cultivation requires a huge amount of water, and producing this textile may also involve land repurposing. As a result, cotton cultivation frequently depletes the soil in the areas where it is grown. Most cotton producers worldwide resort to agrochemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers, to grow their crops.
These harmful chemicals run off into the surrounding water, poison the soil, and end up being present in potentially dangerous concentrations in end products. In the vast majority of instances, cotton cultivation is an exploitative practice in which international corporations take advantage of poor, uneducated people in third-world countries to produce these fibers.
This practice is harmful to communities, and it supports a cycle of poverty that results in reduced life expectancy and multiple succeeding generations of servitude. Organic cultivation processes do not involve any artificial pesticides or fertilizers, which reduces the environmental impact of the production of this textile fiber.
To be certified as organic, cotton cultivators must also promote sustainability within the communities where they operate. Workers who produce organic cotton must be compensated fairly, and environmental degradation must be kept to a minimum.
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