Cotton Timeline
Do you know how your cotton t-shirt is made? Here's a timeline to show you the steps cotton goes through to become a garment.
Stage 1: Cotton plant
The soft cotton fibre grows around the seed of the cotton plant (Gossypium sp.) a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa.After the plant has grown for 5 months the cotton bolls are either handpicked or picked with heavy machinery.
Stage 2: Cotton lint
The cotton then goes to the mill to be“ginned”, where the seeds are separated from the cotton fibres and cotton lint is produced.
Stage 3: Cotton yarn
The cotton lint is now ready to be spun into yarn.
Stage 4: Cotton Fabric
In this form the cotton will be knitted or weaved into fabric that will be sent to garment factories or tailors to make your t-shirt.