Getting Lost
When traditions pass from generation to generation, myth and mystery slowly gather around them like a haze over glass, obscuring the original. Re-discovering the essence isn't necessarily hard. Sweep away the dust, get back to basics, and the purpose of a tradition resets itself. With natural materials like cotton, that exercise is long overdue.
So, what actually is cotton?
It's a plant. It flowers into "bolls" — fluffy, cloud-like clusters of millions of fine hair-like strands. Those bolls are picked, the fibers separated, twisted into yarn, and woven into fabric. Simple, ancient, and still unbeaten.
Now let's look at some beliefs that have spread — with enthusiastic help from the internet — and ask the obvious question: True or Not True?
1. "Cotton is bad for the planet because it needs too much water."
True or untrue?
If cotton were truly a water-guzzler, it would thrive in the Amazon or the Pacific Northwest. It doesn't. Cotton grows in Egypt, the Deccan Plateau, parts of Turkey, inner China. Those are all places with dry, hot climates with lower rainfall. So you decide what's actually true. And, as a bonus, these are also regions where cotton farming supports financially weaker communities year after year. That "year-after-year" thing is also proof of sustainability
2. "Cotton textiles waste thousands of gallons of water."
True or untrue?
Textile production does use large quantities of water for bleaching, dyeing, and washing — that part is true. But used is not the same as wasted. Most chemicals used with cotton can be filtered out, returning much of that water safely to the water table. A lot is used; only a small fraction is genuinely lost.
But:
Petroleum-based synthetics and polymer yarns (like polyester, nylon, acrylic) which consume even more water, and release chemicals and micro-plastics that are extraordinarily difficult to extract. Those chemicals poison water tables for hundreds of years, and the cancer rates in affected communities are not a coincidence. That is real waste. More cotton means less synthetic fabric, and less damage of that kind.
Before we get to quality, let's understand two key cotton concepts
Weave: The fine hairs of the cotton boll are picked apart, aligned, and twisted into strands called 'yarn'. In a simple basket weave to make fabric, that yarn is then criss-crossed. Think of a fisherman's net — strings crossing strings, with space between them. For towels, garments, and kitchen textiles, those strands need to come closer together and hold tighter.
Twisted yarn: A fisherman mooring his boat needs rope strong enough to hold. Thinner rope is braided into thicker rope for strength. Cotton yarn works the same way — twist thinner strands of yarn together and the fabric becomes considerably stronger, longer-lasting, less linty, and less prone to developing holes. Twist in both directions of the weave, and you have premium fabric. It's not magic - it's simple craft, thousands of years old.
3. "Soft fabric means superior quality."
True or untrue?
Soft fabric comes in two very different forms: limp, or well-formed. Loose weaving makes fabric feel soft because it's simply... limp. Denser weaving with long-staple cotton like the kind used in fine handkerchiefs, produces fabric that is both soft and well-structured. But "superior quality" is determined by length of the yarn and density of weave, not softness alone.
The daylight test: Pick up a tea towel. Hold it at arm's length against a window. Can you make out actual objects on the other side? That's a loose weave — more net than fabric. Or do you see only light and shadow? The mat goes like this... a denser + tighter weave = more cotton + more material + more strength. Now if it passes the daylight test and feels soft to the touch, that is true quality.
Bonus: Denser fabric also means sharper, cleaner prints, and a product that lasts years rather than seasons.
4. Big brands have the price advantage
True or untrue?
Two factors come into play here - volume of purchase and operating costs. Big brands with large purchase orders get a great price from suppliers but their prices may not be that great if overhead is high. Large volume brands also catering to the mass market who may or may not be discerning about quality. Smaller brands that actually buy the yarn, weave the fabric, design and produce the finished goods, have a better control on cost and quality since they do not rely on other factories
Cost and value: Two fabrics may look the same to the eye. But, twisted yarn combined with tighter weave uses more [and better] cotton. It costs more to make. Commercial pressures push larger brands to cut corners with looser weaves, short staple yarn and no twisting.
