Commercial type of cotton
Cotton fibres are classified commercially
according to the source they are obtained from as well as their staple length. There
are six types o cotton available. Those are
(a) Sea Island cotton,
(b) Egyptian cotton,
(c) Brazilian cotton,
(d) American cotton,
(c) Indian cotton and
(f) China cotton
Sea Island cotton
Sea Island cotton comes
originally from Barbadoes. Hence it has the name 'Gossypium Barbadense. It is
the most important cotton and is grown in USA, Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It
is a long, fine, soft and silky fibre. This cotton is more uniform with minimum
variation in length or twist. The colour is of a light creamy tint. The staple
length is around 5 cm or more.
Egyptian cotton
This cotton is available
in Egypt and Middle East countries. These fibres are also long, fine, soft and
silky like that of Sea Island cotton with slight inferior qualities. The staple
length of these types of cotton is in between 3.7 cm to 4.5 cm
Brazilian cotton
This cotton is also known
as Peruvian cotton as it was originated from Peru and are available in Peru and
Brazil. The colour is generally dull white to cream but some cotton are dull
golden. The fibres are harsh and wiry to touch but elastic. The staple length
is in between 3 cm to 4 crm
American cotton
The staple length of this cotton is between
2.5 cm to 3.5 cm.
Indian cotton
American cotton is grown in USA and in the
south of North America this cotton is available in India. The quality is generally
poor with lower staple and coarser diameter. This cotton is generally white in
colour. The staple length is in the range of 2 cm to 3 cm.
China cotton
This type of cotton is available in China
only. The quality of this cotton is the poorest and it cannot be used for finer variety
of fabrics. The staple length is 1.5 cm to 2 cm only
