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A central question for the U.S. economy is whether consumers will continue spending. A factor that has supported spending growth since the recession is the labor market, which was resilient to the surge in inflation and the rise in interest rates. After several years of strength, however, the labor market has been showing signs of…
Enfocadas en la demanda posterior, estas actualizaciones ejecutivas de algodón cubren indicadores macroeconómicos clave y lo que pueden significar para la colocación de…
Jacquard is a patterned fabric produced on a weaving loom. May be sectional or all-over design in color and texture. Shedding…
Consumers care about the sustainability of the materials they wear every day. Ongoing consumer research from Cotton Incorporated shows they’ll back that up with their wallets too. Brands that pursue sustainable sourcing and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals are not only doing what’s good for business, but also what’s right for the earth. It is both a risk and a missed opportunity if…
Flatbed screen printing can be considered an automated version of the older hand-operated silkscreen printing process used on t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other printed items. For each color in the print design, a separate screen must be constructed or engraved. If the design has four colors, then four separate screens must be engraved. The modern flatbed screen printing machine consists of an…
Many casual jeans are simply stonewashed and/or treated with enzymes, then softened, dried, inspected, pressed, and finally, shipped. The process begins when loomstate jeans—that is, jeans that have not yet been through the finishing process—are brought to a rotary washing or belly washing machine and loaded. They may be directly stonewashed or may be desized prior to stoning. Enzymes may…
Yarns used in denim fabrics are termed short-staple spun yarns because they are formed from fibers having a staple length of fewer than 2.5 inches. The cotton fiber usually is just over an inch long. One of the key pieces of yarn information for the development and manufacturing of denim is the choice of yarn size. The terms yarn number, yarn count, and yarn size are used interchangeably…
An understanding of how various stitches and seams work in constructing garments is essential. Apparel manufacturing uses about 30 stitch types and about 300 types of seams. A tremendous number of stitch and seam combinations thus are available for garment assembly. Cutting T-shirts involves two separate…
Learn about the basics of shrinkage &…
Sourcing cotton-based products from a reliable supplier is key to delivering the ideal final product. Our directory includes suppliers based in the U.S. that offer a variety of cotton yarns, knit and woven fabrics, dyeing and finishing services, printing, and cut & sew manufacturing. CottonWorks™ makes it easy to find the right suppliers to meet your specific needs. Our U.S. Suppliers List…
Sustainability continues to be at the forefront of product decisions, brand initiatives, and strategic planning in the textile industry. The use of recycled materials, including recycled cotton, is a growing topic of interest in sustainability and sustainable textiles. Recycled cotton is not a new concept to the textile and apparel market, but as manufacturers, brands, and retailers continue to…
A life cycle assessment, or LCA, is a science-based evaluation of the entire environmental impact of a product across every stage of its life cycle. Our cotton LCA considers the impact of cotton’s growth, harvesting, manufacturing, consumer use, and end of life, identifying key environmental impact areas as well as benchmark success over time. From fiber sourcing to product end of life,…
Yarn numbering is a term used to describe a yarn’s physical size or, more specifically, its linear…
Cotton is a remarkable textile. Grown from sun, soil and water, cotton is a drought tolerant crop with a small water footprint. Unlike synthetic fibers, cotton’s natural fibers do not shed microplastics. Cotton fibers biodegrade in water,1 wastewater2 and soil,3 returning to the earth as a part of its circular journey. Cotton waste can be valuable, with its ability to be turned into…
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FARM TOUR AGENDA REIMBURSEMENT…
Unique product technologies offer additional benefits to cotton’s natural properties.…
All yarns are originally spun as single yarns, but for certain end uses, single yarns may be twisted together to produce a ply yarn. Most common are two-ply yarns, formed by twisting two single yarns together. The plying twist is in the opposite direction of the singles twist. That means most ply yarns will contain an “S” twist. Ply yarns are used where extra strength and evenness are…
Cotton Can Create Sustainable Textiles From farm to fiber to finishing, cotton presents opportunities for sustainability throughout its life…
This technical guide on cotton for nonwovens covers the following subjects: The cotton plant is a warm-season woody perennial shrub, which is grown as an annual field crop. Because the plants are grown in various environments, cotton farmers can choose from many varieties of cotton that are bred to be productive in various environmental and cultural conditions. After the seeds are planted and…
Building brand affinity with consumers through trust is essential to overcome the noise and stand out. And that's where the Seal of Cotton trademark comes in. For consumers, the Seal of Cotton trademark is an emblem of credibility and trust. In fact, 79% of consumers find brands using the Seal of Cotton trademark to be trustworthy.1 Because of the quality, comfort, and sustainability attributes…
Drying is, of course, used to remove moisture from the fabrics. However, the way in which the heated air is applied can have more far-reaching effects. Controlling the mechanical action of the drier, including the air velocity and other mechanisms, can result in bulking of the fabric and shrinkage control. High temperatures after drying can be used for heat setting of thermoplastic fibers.…
Finishing is defined as any chemical process other than preparation or the application of color that imparts useful or desired properties to a textile or apparel product. Although it can be performed on fibers or yarns, finishing usually occurs after the fabric or garment has been prepared and dyed, and is often the last step. Finishing processes can affect many qualities of a fabric or garment,…
Many casual jeans are simply stonewashed and/or treated with enzymes, then softened, dried, inspected, pressed, and finally, shipped. The process begins when loomstate jeans—that is, jeans that have not yet been through the finishing process—are brought to a rotary washing or belly washing machine and loaded. They may be directly stonewashed or may be desized prior to stoning. Enzymes may…
The primary type of knitting for sweater manufacturing is weft knitting. Machine gauges tend to be coarse (7 to 14 gauge) and in a flat-bed arrangement. Circular machines are also used for a high production rate in cut-and-sew production. Today’s fully electronic V-bed machines can produce whole garments not requiring any cut and sew. With flat-bed machines, needle manipulation allows for…
Sweater dyeing and finishing generally are not very complicated, because most sweaters are made with dyed yarns and need only a light scour before finishing. Some cotton sweaters need to be scoured or bleached before dyeing or finishing. Several types of dyestuffs can be used to dye cotton. For bright and medium to dark shades, reactive dyes are used. Pastel shades typically are dyed with direct…
Knits are made by intermeshing yarn into loops to form a fabric. Compared with woven constructions, which are rigid and stable, knits easily conform to the human body. The intermeshed loops of knits allow for flexibility as they stretch to fit the form. This mobility helps knitted fabrics maintain a smoother appearance than woven fabrics, making knitted apparel well-suited for sports and other…
With the various knitting machinery available on the market, knit design capabilities are almost endless. The three basic knit stitches jersey, float, and tuck, offer infinite design potential when mixed with novel yarns, knit textures, and technological innovations. In this section, we will review process options for designing knit textiles. When beginning to design knits for a collection,…
There are so many variations and textures to knit fabrics, but they are all fundamentally grouped by the type of machinery needed to produce the fabrics. In this section, we will go into more depth about the mechanics of each type of machine in weft and warp knitting and review the differences between single and double-knit mechanics. A circular knitting machine is commonly used for single…
What preparation is needed before dyeing cotton? Preparation of cotton fibers, yarns, and fabrics to undergo dyeing and finishing processes is critical because many problems that appear later can be traced back to inadequate…
Color is often the first thing a consumer notices about a garment, so it is a key element of product development. The lab dipping process is the first step in developing and approving the color of a product. Understanding how lab dips are created enables effective communication with suppliers when adjustments are…
March 4, 2025 Cotton Incorporated is excited to return to Expo West, proudly sponsoring the product showcase for the third time. This year’s event will take place from March 4th-7th, 2025, at the Anaheim Convention Center, gathering retailers and suppliers from across the natural, organic, and health products…
A summary of the growth & development of a cotton plant—from seed germination to maturation. Cotton plant development occurs in a very specific sequence of events. The stages of reproductive growth and cotton plant development must be optimized to ensure ideal fiber production. Developing a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of cotton plant growth and development is essential…
Cotton consumers, producers, and mills have been benefitting from Cotton Incorporated’s Engineered Fiber Selection® (EFS®) system, a high volume instrument (HVI®) data management tool, since 1982. The EFS® system suite of software is a cotton logistics, evaluation, and optimization package designed to improve the profitability of cotton throughout the manufacturing process—from the…
Single-knit fabrics can be the most productive knits to produce based on the stitch and machinery. These fabrics offer lots of versatility for garment construction and tend to be used for garments worn close to the body. Stitch constructions bring texture variety to single knits and the weight and drape of the fabrics can be modified by yarn and fiber types. In this section, we will review a…
About 100 buyers, designers, and sustainability officers with major fashion brands and retailers joined sustainability luminaries and experts in soil health, supply chain, circularity, and cotton agriculture at the 2022 Cotton Sustainability…
Descarga la muy solicitada presentación “Creación Digital de Producto” de la serie de Master Classes en Medellín, Lima y Ciudad de…
Cotton debuts Baby Care, Parents Prefer Cotton Collection at ECRM…
During the September Home Textiles Market Week, 1888 Mills will debut a new bath and bedding collection that makes a strong statement: cotton belongs at every price point. Developed in collaboration with Cotton Incorporated, the assortment features 100% cotton towels, sheets, and bedding at opening price points designed to provide a natural alternative within the value market. The collection…