Профессинонально-ориентированных ТЕКСТОВ

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(ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CLOTHING AND FASHION (P.306) VOLUME 1: Academic Dress to Eyeglasses Valerie Steele, Editor in Chief 2005, Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation)

Cotton plants are native to several parts of the world, and the use of cotton fiber originated inde­pendently at least 7, 000 years ago in the India/ Pakistan and the Mexico/Peru regions. Climate was an important lim­iting factor in the spread of cotton cultivation. Cotton textiles were traded widely in Roman times, and the growing and production of cotton soon spread from India to Egypt and China. Cotton also became an important global trade com­modity. In fact, Indian prints and gauze cottons surpassed the popularity of fine woolens in the seventeenth century and played a role in greatly di­minishing the demand for wool and tapestry textiles. With the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cot­ton became a much higher volume commodity, as the machine took over one of the most laborious steps in cot­ton production, the separation of fibers from seeds. Cotton fiber is a seed hair removed from the boll (seed pod) of the cotton plant that bursts open when fully de­veloped. Bolls emerge from blossoms that fall off to leave the exposed boll. One boll can produce more than 250, 000 individual fibers. The cotton plant is a four- to six-foot tall shrubby annual in temperate climates, but a treelike perennial in tropical climates. The best qualities of cot­ton grow in climates with high rainfall in the growing sea­son and a dry, warm picking season. Rain or strong wind can cause damage to opened bolls. Cotton is subject to damage from the boll weevil, bollworm, and other insects as well as several dis­eases. Processing cotton includes many stages. While pick­ingmature cotton bolls by hand yields the highest qual­ity, mechanized picking makes high production more feasible and affordable. Ginningis used to clean debris from cotton and prepare it for spinning into yarn. Gradingsep­arates cotton into quality levels in which short fibers tend quality textiles. Cardingis the next step in all cotton fiber processing and is used to further clean and minimally align fibers. An additional processing called combingis used to further clean and align higher quality cottons. Yarn creation involves drawingfibers into a thinner strand that is then spuninto a finished yarn ready for fabrica­tion into the textile. So-called greige-good (unfinished) fabrics undergo final finishing, which typically involves singing(burning off loose particles) and then tenteringto align the grain of the fabric and adjust the width. Either at the fiber, yarn, fabric, or product stage, cotton may be subject to bleachingto remove natural colors (tan through gray) at which point fashionable colors can be added through dyeingand printingprocesses. Other final finish­ingprocesses might be used to obtain special features such as sizingfor smoothness; durable press; a polished sur­face; or a puckered surface texture. Cotton fiber varies in length. Short staple fibers are used for relatively coarse textiles like bagging; medium to long staple are the upland cot­tons used for a majority of cotton products; and extra-long staple cottons are used for very high quality exclusive cotton goods. Natural colours for cotton fibers include off-white, cream, and gray; selective breed­ing of naturally coloured cottons has expanded the colour range to include brown, rust, red, beige, and green. Higher quality, long staple cottons are closer to white than coarse shorter fibers. Cotton fiber is a flat, twisted, ribbon-like structure easily identified under the microscope. Long-staple fine cottons exceed this stan­dard and are often hard to differentiate from silk in sur­face smoothness. Cotton is cellulosic and thus has aesthetic, comfort, and performance characteristics reminiscent of linen and rayon textiles. These include high absorbency and low insulation and a tendency to be cool in hot temperatures. As a rel­atively heavy textile, cotton is more useful for keeping cool or for dressing in layers than it is in providing warmth. Cotton is a medium strong fiber with a tendency to wrinkle. Blending cotton with synthetic fibers such as polyester is the most com­mon way to overcome wrinkling. The twisted cotton fiber results naturally in a some­what fuzzy spun yarn that holds onto dirt particles. Cotton has high heat resistance, is stronger wet than dry, and withstands cleaning, press­ing, and creasing very successfully. Because it can be sterilized by boiling, cotton is useful in clean room and medical applications. Cotton seldom irritates the skin or causes allergies. Cotton tex­tiles are flammable and subject to damage by mildew, perspiration, bleach, and silverfish. Cotton has also achieved a good reputation as a “green” textile, because it is biodegradable. 100 percent cotton cloth is preferred for uses that demand being next to the skin or high phys­ical activity. This includes a wide range of active wear. About 60 percent of all interior textiles are made of cotton or cotton blends; this category includes sheets, towels, blankets, draperies, cur­tains, upholstery, slipcovers and rugs. Industrial uses account for less than 10 percent of cotton production, reflecting the advantages of synthet­ics.