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In the Factory
Once cotton is harvested, it enters a complex chain of related industries (ginning, compressing, warehousing, shipping, manufacturing) that handle and utilize cotton’s main product, fiber (also called lint) and its main byproduct, cottonseed. (The cotton plant’s burrs and stems also have uses). Cotton’s journey from field to fabric, feedstore, frying pan, and other destinations has undergone radical changes from the time when lint was removed from the seed by hand at an excruciatingly slow pace. Changes have occurred in both processes (such as spinning and weaving, which are now done at lighting speed) and products, which include everything from biodiesel to wearable computers.
