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Getting The Most From Cotton

by Shopify API on Jan 25, 2015

Though you might be most familiar with cotton as a clothing fabric, the non-allergenic natural fiber has many purposes. The cotton plant is one of the most economical crops because nearly every part of the plant can be utilized: lint, cottonseed, linters, stalks, and seed hulls.

One cotton bale alone can produce 250 single bed sheets, 1,200 t-shirts, 215 pairs of jeans, 2,100 pairs of boxer shorts, 3,000 nappies, 680,000 cotton balls, or 4,300 pairs of socks. Pretty useful, huh?

Since cotton doesn’t irritate sensitive skin, its softness is preferred in making underwear and other clothing worn close to the skin. Cotton’s adaptability allows it to easily blend amongst other fibers and synthetics, and its also extremely receptive to dyes. Cotton is also used in making tents, car tire cord, fishnets, and book binding.

In addition to clothing, cotton makes an ideal medical product. Its adaptability allows the fabric to hold up to 27 times its own weight in water, and it actually becomes stronger when wet. Because of these properties, cotton is often used as a bandage or swab in the medical environment.

From the cotton seed, you can use the oil for cooking and the seed as feed for livestock—surprisingly, cottonseed provides a wealth of energy for livestock. Cottonseed can also be used in a number of industrial products like soap, margarine, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paints, rubbers, water proofing materials, and candles.

At Commercial Bag and Supply, we order bulk rolls of cotton that can be cut and sewn to your exact dimensions. To learn more about our manufacturing process or to request a quote for your next project, please contact us here!