Contrary to popular belief, not all cotton is naturally white. Many people believe that the only cotton that grows is white, which then needs to be dyed to have color, but in the past there were many different colors of cotton growing in the United States. The variety of colored cotton plants growing in the United States ranged from tan and yellow to green, red and brown.
Colored cotton agriculture started in the eastern areas of Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and Peru around 2700 B.C. It continued steadily until the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the cotton gin. Colored cotton had shorter fibers that made it hard to spin on mechanical looms, so white cotton with longer fibers was preferred. In the American south, African slaves were forbidden from growing white cotton in their gardens, lest they actually profit from it, but they were allowed to grow colored cotton strains for personal use, because the short fibers still worked when weaving by hand.
As industrial dyes became less expensive and use of the cotton gin increased, the tradition of growing colored cotton all but vanished from the American farmscape. Colored cottons made a brief reappearance during World War II when they used green and brown plants because the dyes were unavailable. Once things returned to normal, the practice was again abandoned, except in traditional communities like Guatemala, Mexico and Peru.
Cotton is one of the most pesticide dependent plants in the world! 23 percent of the world’s insecticides and 10 percent of the world’s pesticides are used to spray cotton! Once this cotton is grown, it is then dyed with harsh harmful chemicals to make it flame retardant and for color.
An entomologist by the name of Sally Fox has been experimenting with naturally colored cotton seeds she discovered in the last few decades. She was able to breed the plants to have stronger fibers, which enabled the cotton to be mechanically spun. Through her desire to make children’s clothes that are fire resistant and not soaked in chemicals to color them, she bred some of the varieties of naturally colored cotton to have natural fire resistance. Ms. Fox now has two patented colors that are fire resistant: Coyote and Buffalo Fox Fibre. She also has six other shades: Coyote and New Brown, which are reddish browns, Buffalo, which is milk chocolate colored in appearance, sage-colored Palo Verde, Green Fox Fibre, and a dark forest green color called New Green.
It is a fairly new trend for consumers to desire that their cotton be grown organically. In 1988 there was only one acre of cotton in America that was organically grown. By 2001, there was more than 11,000 acres and now the number is at only 5,000 acres as the competition from the global market increases. Colored cotton is not only easy to grow organically, but is far more resistant to pests than white cotton. It also saves on bleaching and dying with harsh chemicals through its natural coloring. The possibilities for safe and healthy colored cotton seem endless. This new phenomena of organically grown chemical free cotton clothing is not over, so keep on the lookout at the latest “green” fashion shows!
