Cotton remains the most miraculous fiber under the sun, even after 8,000 years. No other fiber comes close to duplicating all of the desirable characteristics combined in cotton.

The fiber of a thousand faces and almost as many uses, cotton is noted for its versatility, appearance, performance and above all, its natural comfort. From all types of apparel, including astronauts' in-flight space suits, to sheets and towels, and tarpaulins and tents, cotton in today's fast-moving world is still nature's wonder fiber. It provides thousands of useful products and supports millions of jobs as it moves from field to fabric.

Cotton is used to make a number of textile products. These include terrycloth, used to make highly absorbent bath towels and robes; denim, used to make blue jeans; chambray, popularly used in the manufacture of blue work shirts (from which we get the term "blue-collar"); and corduroy, seersucker, and cotton twill. Socks, underwear, and most T-shirts are made from cotton. Bed sheets often are made from cotton. Cotton also is used to make yarn used in crochet and knitting. Fabric also can be made from recycled or recovered cotton that otherwise would be thrown away during the spinning, weaving, or cutting process. While many fabrics are made completely of cotton, some materials blend cotton with other fibers, including rayon and synthetic fibers such as polyester. It can either be used in knitted or woven fabrics, as it can be blended with elastine to make a stretchier thread for knitted fabrics, and things such as stretch jeans.

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