Cotton is a staple fabric spun from the fibers of cotton plants. People around the world have been cultivating it for thousands of years. One of the earliest bits of cotton is at least 7,000 years old and was found in Mexico. In Egypt and Pakistan, people were weaving cotton thread into clothing in 3,000 BC. And in the 18th century, the British first found a way to spin cotton into textile with machinery.
Cotton is a plant that loves warmer weather and it takes several months for it to produce the fluffy cotton balls that we all know. After the plants are harvested, they are defoliated and send to the cotton gin. There, the cotton fibers are combed — this is done for cleaning and fiber straightening purposes — and then spun into yarn.