Cotton is a white and smooth substance in the surrounding of the seeds of some plants such as
the cotton plant, which is a herbaceous plant of the malvaceous genus. Cotton was used 3.000
years ago.
When cotton is taken , it comes together with a big amount of seeds and impurities which must
be separated. They are used for fertilizing and forage, and clean cotton is clasified by its colour
and fiber lenght. Although cotton is mainly used for textile industry, it is also used for
decoration, and medical and industrial uses.
Although cotton is the most common textile fiber now in use, it was the las natural fiber to
attain comercial importance. In the 5th century B.C. the Greek historian Herodotus reported that
among the valuable products in India was the wild plant that bears fleece as its fruit. In the
following century cotton was introduced from India into Greece by Alexander the Great. Although
the early Greeks and Romans used cotton for awnings and sails as well as for clothing, it was not
adopted for widespread use in Europe until centuries later.
In the New World, the Mexicans used cotton for weaving in the pre-Columbian period. Cotton textiles
were found in the West Indies and in South America by expolores in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Cotton was cultivated by the early American colonists, and after the introduction of the cotton
gin, invented in 1793 by the American inventor Eli Whitney, cotton became the most important staple
fiber in the world for quantity, economy and utility.