Egyptian Cotton

choi

Sarah Nassauer and Preetika Rana, Are Your Sheets 'Egyptian Cotton?'  Wall Street Journal, Aug 25, 2016
http://www.wsj.com/articles/more ... n-cotton-1472070815

Quote:

(a) "Egyptian cotton, which since colonial times has been prized for its softness and durability, is often touted by stores that charge a premium

(b) "Egypt produced less than 1% of the global cotton supply last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture, and its output has suffered amid political and economic upheaval in recent years.

(c) "Like Cuban cigars or Champagne wines, the defining characteristic of Egyptian cotton isn’t necessarily its quality but where it is grown. Any cotton harvested in Egypt—there are roughly 10 varieties grown—can carry the label.

" 'Long fiber' cotton sourced in Egypt is nearly indistinguishable from 'long staple' cotton grown in other parts of the world once it becomes yarn or fabric, analysts say.

"The Cotton Egypt Association, which licenses the trademark and certifies suppliers, estimates that 90% of products labeled “Egyptian cotton” are fakes but such public rebukes for mislabeling are rare.

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of this report, which basically says a large Indian textile company, Welspun India Ltd, has used non-Egyptian cotton for about two years (despite professions to the contrary), according to an investigation conducted by Target (the second largest American customer of Welspun).
(b) "Egypt produced less than 1% of the global cotton supply last year"

Citing USDA, a pie chart with this report shows India (27%) > China (23%) > US (13%) > Egypt (0.3%), with the rest (36%).
(c) cotton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
(section 2.7 Egypt)

* There is a Wikipedia page for "Gossypium barbadense," which states that so called Egyptian cotton came from Equador and Peru, by way of Arizona.
--------------------------section 2.7 Egypt
Though known since antiquity the commercial growing of cotton in Egypt only started in 1820's, following a Frenchman, by the name of M. Jumel, propositioning the then ruler, Mohamed Ali Pasha, that he could earn a substantial income by growing an extra-long staple Maho (Barbadence) cotton, in Lower Egypt, for the French market. Mohamed Ali Pasha accepted the proposition and granted himself the monopoly on the sale and export of cotton in Egypt; and later dictated cotton should be grown in preference to other crops. By the time of the American Civil war annual exports had reached $16 million (120,000 bales), which rose to $56 million by 1864, primarily due to the loss of the Confederate supply on the world market. Exports continued to grow even after the reintroduction of US cotton, produced now by a paid workforce, and Egyptian exports reached 1.2 million bales a year by 1903.
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