From Field to Fabric: How Cotton Becomes the Clothes We Wear

Cotton is one of the oldest and most widely used natural fibers in the world, but few people understand the process that transforms it from a fluffy white boll on a plant into the soft fabric in their favorite t-shirt or pair of jeans. It all starts in cotton fields, where plants are typically grown in warm climates like the southern United States, India, and parts of Africa. Once the bolls mature, they’re harvested—either by hand or machine—and sent to gins, where the cotton fibers are separated from seeds, dirt, and stems.

After ginning, the clean cotton fibers are compressed into large bales and shipped to textile mills. At this stage, the fiber is carded, a mechanical process that disentangles and aligns the cotton strands to prepare them for spinning. Carded cotton can then be combed (for higher quality) or spun directly into yarn using high-speed machines. Spinning twists the fibers together, strengthening them into continuous threads that will eventually be used to make fabric.

The spun cotton yarn is next woven or knitted into fabric, depending on the end use. Woven cotton is used for shirts, trousers, and bed linens, while knitted cotton is popular in t-shirts, activewear, and undergarments for its stretch and softness. After weaving or knitting, the fabric undergoes finishing processes—washing, bleaching, dyeing, and pre-shrinking, among others—to enhance its appearance, feel, and performance. This is also when specific treatments, like softening or wrinkle resistance, may be applied.

From there, the cotton fabric is ready to be cut and sewn into garments. For something that feels so simple and familiar, cotton undergoes a complex, global journey—one that blends agriculture, engineering, chemistry, and craft. As consumers grow more curious about where their clothing comes from, understanding this lifecycle helps connect the dots between the earth, the supply chain, and what we choose to wear every day.