| The major end uses for cotton fiber include apparel, | | | | The United States has proven to be the most reliable |
| home furnishings, and other industrial uses such as | | | | producer of high quality cotton. Cotton Incorporated, |
| medical supplies. From the beginning of the 20th | | | | located in North Carolina, addresses issues in |
| century to the end of WWII, cotton accounted for 81% | | | | agricultural research, fiber quality, and textile |
| of the worldâs total fiber consumption. A shift | | | | manufacturing. According to the organization, the textile |
| occurred in the 1940s when man-made fibers first | | | | industry currently finds itself at odds. Cotton growers |
| appeared in the market. Cotton fiber is made primarily | | | | are struggling to grow their crop, and because of the |
| into yarns and threads for use in the textile and | | | | low prices it generates on the world market, they are |
| apparel sectors, which today account for | | | | unable to make a decent profit. With the increase in |
| approximately 60% of cotton consumption. Cotton is | | | | concern for the environment over the past few years, |
| the largest natural fiber for textiles and it is estimated | | | | cotton growers have reduced pesticide and irrigated |
| that each year there will be a 4.5 billion pound increase | | | | water use by over 45%. |
| for cotton. | | | | |