Cotton History

Cotton History

Cotton fibre is naturally soft, friendly to the skin and has the flexibility to be made into materials capable of coping with wide variances in atmospheric moisture and temperature. For almost 7,000 years, cotton clothing has protected mankind from sun, rain, heat and frost.

• 5000 BC

  Cotton was used in the Mexican Tunuac Ajn Valley.

• 3000 BC

  Various civilisations in India, China and Egypt grew cotton.

• 2700 BC

  Mohejo Daro, within the Indus Valley area of today's Pakistan, has the oldest archaeological evidence of clothing made from cotton.

• 2000 - 1500 BC

  The Maya in Guatemala, Yucatan and Mexico grew cotton.

• 10 BC - 1925 AD

  Indian tribes in the south of what is now the USA cultivated cotton.

• 800 AD

  Arab merchants brought cotton clothing to Europe.

• 1492 AD

  Having arrived in the Bahamas, Christopher Columbus is one of the first Europeans to see cotton being grown

• 15th & 16th Century

  European colonists take cotton seeds across the Atlantic to start a new industry. Cotton seeds are believed to have been planted in Florida in 1556 and in Virginia in 1607.

• 1730

  The Industrial Revolution began in England: cotton was spun and woven by machinery.

• 18th Century

  The cotton industry becomes the biggest industry in the USA.

• 1793

  In the U.S. Eli Whitney invented the first “cotton gin” machine, and within 10 years farmers had expanded cotton production from 2 million pounds to almost 50 million.

• 1851

  60% of U.S. exports consist of cotton products.

• 1968

  94% of U.S. cotton is harvested by machinery.

• Today

  The cotton industry is the most important employer in more than 90 countries of the world. The USA is one of the largest cotton exporters and producers worldwide.

• The U.S.-Cotton Belt – cotton as far as the eye can see

  U.S. cotton is grown in the so-called "Cotton Belt." This vast area of the USA embraces 17 states across the South, from North Carolina on the East Coast to California on the West Coast. The region's soil conditions and climate of virtually continual sunshine guarantee a permanent supply of high quality fibres. That's why the USA can offer such a wide range of different types of cotton.