Egyptian Cotton

Egyptian cotton, as the name implies, is grown in the country of Egypt. It is specifically grown along the Nile River Valley where the climate conditions are perfect for the growing extra long cotton fibers (also known as staples) for which Egyptian cotton is known. The Egyptian cotton staples range from 1.5 to 2.25 inches which is about twice that of other cotton fibers.

The Brunei Times with the writer/journalist Dan Mcdougall estimates according to Human Rights Watch that over one million children between the age of 7 and 12 are annually employed in cotton production. Small farmers also claims that they are being exploited by the larger cooperatives in the market/phot from Observer

Egyptian cotton is associated with wonderful quality and superior handle due to its extra staple. The long fibers enable the production of a finer but stronger yarn that can be woven into any number of thread counts. Thread count is the number of threads going horizontally and vertically within each square inch of woven cloth. The higher the threads count of the fabric the more expensive the fabric and ultimately the more expensive the final product.

Egyptian cotton bed linen is especially desired because the linen has a crisp or silky satin texture. Good quality bed linen starts at 180 thread count and can go as high as 1000 thread count. Another property of Egyptian cotton is the high absorbency rate which is why Egyptian cotton is desired for bath towels and bathrobes. Egyptian cotton also produces less lint and will not pill after repeated laundering. In fact after every laundering the Egyptian fiber becomes softer and softer.

True Egyptian cotton comes only from Egypt; however, there are many areas outside of Egypt where extra long cotton fiber cotton grown. Cotton plants that produce extra long cotton fibers similar to those grown in Egypt are also grown in the United States, China, Indian, Brazil, Pakistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. However, only the cotton that comes from the country of Egypt is marked with a logo that consists of a white cotton plant inside a dark triangle which is a symbol of an Egyptian pyramid and is considered true Egyptian cotton.

In the United States extra long staple cotton is grown in the Southwestern states. This cotton is referred to as ELS (Extra-Long Staple), it was previously known as American-Egyptian cotton. This cotton is also referred to as “Pima” in honor of the Pima Indians who helped to raise the ELS cotton on a USDA experimental farm in Arizona. The first ELS cotton was produced in the 1950’s with additional variety releases in 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s. People in the textile industry also refer to this type of cotton Supima (which stands for Superior Prima) .

The difference between Egyptian cotton and Supima cotton is basically the location the cotton is grown. All cotton grown in the country of Egypt is the true Egyptian cotton and carries the above mentioned trademark.

The cotton industry worldwide relies heavily on chemical fertilizers and insecticides. In recent years there has been a push for organically grown cotton which is known as eco-cotton (or organic cotton). Eco-cotton is grown without the use of chemical fertilizer or pesticides and harvested by hand.