Textile School

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today. The English name derives from the Arabic (al) qutn قُطْن , which began to be used circa 1400.

Each cotton fiber is composed of concentric layers. The cuticle layer on the fiber itself is separable from the fiber and consists of wax and pectin materials.

Cotton Incorporated helps companies manufacture, market and sell cotton produts more efficiently and more profitably.

The ICAC is an association of governments of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries. The Committee was formed in 1939, and the Secretariat was established in 1946.

NCPA is the trade association for the cottonseed processing industry. Products include cottonseed vegetable oil for cooking; cottonseed meal, a high protein supplement for livestock and poultry; hulls, a roughage for cattle feed; and linters, a cellulose feed stock for many industrial and consumer products.

Cotton Australia is the peak body for Australia's cotton growing industry servicing growers in NSW and Queensland.

Cotton Outlook is published by Cotlook Limited, an independent Merseyside-based company that has been engaged in publishing cotton news for over 75 years.

The Mission of the Cotton Division is to support the orderly and efficient marketing of U.S. cotton, domestically and internationally, by providing unbiased classification, standardization, market news and oversight of the research and promotion program.

ACSA's member firms handle over 80% of the U.S. cotton sold in domestic and foreign markets. The significant market involvement of ACSA members requires that the Association take an active part in promoting the increased use of cotton in the U.S.

Industrial Revolution in England with biographies of inventors, engineers, politicians, reformers and other figures

Cotton on the Net seeks to serve the cotton community worldwide. It is a place where you can view information from Cotlook, publishers of the world-renowned Cotlook Indices, and from a wide range of linked sites who offer a wealth of information on the cotton industry.

The cotton industry's only vertical publication with a production and management focus. Cotton Farming provides profitable production strategies for cotton farmers across the Belt, with regional editions.

The Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the history of the American cotton industry, as well as the history of Hunt County, Texas and the northern Texas Blackland Prairie.

The official site of Australian Cotton Research and Development Corporation

Eli Whitney was the inventor of the cotton gin and a pioneer in the mass production of cotton. Whitney was born in Westboro, Massachusetts on December 8, 1765 and died on January 8, 1825.

Check out the latest fashions and styles in cotton products from bedding to blue jeans, expert fabric care tips, purchasing advise, and discover seasonal home decorating ideas

Cotton, belonging to a family that includes hibiscus and okra, produces a natural vegetable fiber used in the manufacture of cloth.

A site dedicated to the sustainable production, processing and consumption of organic cotton worldwide

Cotton's Journey-A Field Trip in A Box - The only cotton education site for classroom teachers providing curriculum, literature resources, links to cotton and educational organizations promoting the importance of this crop, and the story of cotton-from seed to you.

Cotton SA - Responsible for enhancing the marketability of cotton through research, quality standards, grading, compilation of cotton standards for grade, prevention of contamination, testing textile fabrics according to SABS/ISO standards, Cotton Mark, quality mark for pure and blended cotton products, insect and disease control, harvesting of cotton, ginning, spinning, weaving.

Helping cotton farmers by ensuring them remunerative price for their produce and thereby protect their interest.

develop business relationships throughout the entire cotton textile and apparel supply chain from the U.S. cotton yarn and fabric supplier to Western Hemisphere garment manufactures to the U.S. apparel retailer and brands.

Cotton Council International (CCI) mission is to increase exports of U.S. cotton, cottonseed and U.S. manufactured cotton products through activities that affect every phase of the marketing chain -- from the initial mill buyer of cotton fiber or purchaser of U.S. cotton-rich yarns and fabrics on through to the final consumer.

ICA is the world's leading international cotton trade association and arbitral body. We carry more than 160 years of history and a clear mission for the future to protect the legitimate interests of all those involved in the cotton trade.

The National Cotton Council of America's mission is to ensure the ability of all U.S. cotton industry segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and U.S.-manufactured product markets at home and abroad.

PCCA is a farmer owned cotton marketing cooperative headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, and is one of the largest handlers of U.S. cotton, marketing 3 million to 5 million bales annually