Nature and Environment 66752 Views Managing Editor

Five Amazing Facts About Cotton you Probably didn't Know



(NC) Cotton is a staple fabric in our society used in clothing, bedding and bath towels, home décor, and many other items. Here are some cool cotton facts:

1. 80 per cent of the world's cotton is produced by only five countries — China, India, Pakistan, the United States, Brazil and Uzbekistan.

2. In 2014 alone, China grew 3.9 million hectares of biotech, or GMO, cotton. Genetically modified cotton varieties are resistant to the often devastating bollworm insect, and 68 per cent of the world's cotton production in 2014 stemmed from these biotech varieties.

3. In India, use of disease resistant cotton varieties has raised yields by 29 per cent and contributed to a 78 per cent income increase for many of the country's poorest farmers.

4. The fibre from one 227 kilogram bale of cotton can produce 215 pairs of jeans, 250 single bed sheets, 1,200 t-shirts, 2,100 pairs of boxer shorts, 3,000 diapers, 4,300 pairs of socks and 680,000 cotton balls.

5. Bet you didn't know that you carry some GMOs in your wallets when you head south of the border. That's right, American paper money is a 75/25 cotton-linen blend, and 90 per cent of the United States' cotton production is GMO.



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