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Cotton is a plant fiber attached to the seeds of the cotton plant. Cotton is widely grown as a crop and used for raw material in textiles, with the species Gossypium hirsutum, also called upland cotton, being the most commonly cultivated.[1][2]
Cotton is a major global primary product, making up about 80% of the natural fibers produced in the world each year.[2][3] Around 80% of cotton is used in apparel and around 15% in home furnishings. Around 5% is used in mostly non-woven applications, such as filters and padding.[4]
While the cotton plant is most commonly grown for its fiber, other parts of the plant have applications as well.[2][3] Cotton seeds consist of about 20% oil which can be used for various purposes. Cotton processing byproducts may also be used in livestock feed.[5]
As of 2025 data, the world's top cotton producers are China, India, Brazil, the United States, and Pakistan.[6] China is the largest cotton-spinning country in the world, with mill use accounting for nearly a third of global consumption.[7]
As of 2024, the countries with the highest share of raw cotton in their export portfolios were Benin (34.5%), Afghanistan (14%), and Mali (12.5%); countries where raw cotton ranked highest in their export portfolios were Afghanistan (1st), Benin (1st), and Burkina Faso (2nd).[8]
History[edit | edit source]
Cotton has been cultivated by humans throughout many parts of the world for thousands of years and was independently domesticated at least four different times in four different regions of the world.[3][9] Cotton has also played a role in tribute and taxation systems in multiple parts of the world throughout history.[10][5]
Cotton is believed to have first been domesticated about 7000 years ago, with the earliest archaeological evidence for cotton use, of the species G. arboreum, being found in the region of the Indus Valley Civilization.[9] G. hirsutum is believed to have been domesticated in Mexico about 5000 years ago.[9]
By 600 BCE, cotton trading was beginning in Mesopotamia. Cotton reached Europe in the 4th century BCE, but cultivation of the cotton plant in Europe remained limited.[10]
Cotton reached the area of present-day Turpan in Xinjiang, China in the 6th and 7th centuries CE via ancient Silk Road routes, and was initially grown as an ornamental plant, with cotton textiles remaining relatively rare in China until the beginning of the second millennium CE. By the 13th century, cotton textile production and cotton cultivation became two of the most common occupations in rural China.[10]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ “Cotton is the most important fiber crop in the world and belongs to the family Malvaceae and the genus Gossypium, and this genus has nearly 50 species. Four cultivated species of cotton are Gossypium hirsutum L., Gossypium barbedense L. (Egyptian cotton), Gossypium herbaceum L. (Asiatic cotton), and Gossypium arboreum L. (Asiatic cotton), out of these, upland cotton (G. hirsutum) is the most cultivated (on >90% area of total worldwide cot- ton cultivation) species all across the world, which is mainly due to its high yields.”
Khawar Jabran, et. al. (2020). Cotton Production: 'An Introduction to Global Production trends and uses, History and Evolution, and Genetic and Biotechnological Improvements in cotton'. [PDF] - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "From fibre to fabric: Celebrating the value of cotton." UNCTAD, 2019-10-03.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Cotton." Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.
- ↑ "Cotton." Markets and Trade, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jabran, K., Ul‐Allah, S., Chauhan, B. S., & Bakhsh, A. (2019). "An Introduction to Global Production Trends and Uses, History and Evolution, and Genetic and Biotechnological Improvements in Cotton. In Cotton Production." (pp. 1–22) Wiley; Portico.
- ↑ "Cotton Production by Country 2026." World Population Review. Accessed 2026-05-02.
- ↑ OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2025-2034: 'Cotton' (2025). [PDF] OECD-FAO.
- ↑ "Raw Cotton." Observatory of Economic Complexity. Accessed 2026-05-02.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Nicoletta Maestri (2020-01-30). "The Domestication History of Cotton (Gossypium)" ThoughtCo.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Zhao Feng and Marie-Louise Nosch (2022). Textiles and clothing along the Silk Roads. [PDF] UNESCO and China National Silk Museum.