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Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Fibres & Fabrics

Cotton

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/ˈkɒtn/nounCore term

In fashion & textiles, cotton means: A soft natural fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, and the yarn or fabric made from it; the most widely used natural fibre in clothing.

In Turkish: pamuk, pamuklu kumaş

How it is used

Used everywhere from T-shirts to denim and shirting. Buyers specify the type, such as organic cotton, combed cotton, Pima or Egyptian cotton, and blends like cotton-polyester or cotton-elastane. As an adjective, people say a cotton shirt.

Example sentences

  1. The T-shirts are made from 100% organic cotton, certified to GOTS.

  2. We switched to a combed cotton yarn to get a smoother surface.

Common collocations

  • organic cotton
  • combed cotton
  • cotton blend
  • 100% cotton
  • recycled cotton
  • fibreA very thin, long strand of natural or man-made material that is spun into yarn to make fabric, such as cotton, wool, polyester or viscose.
  • yarnA continuous thread made by twisting fibres together, which is then woven or knitted into fabric.
  • denimA strong cotton twill fabric, traditionally with indigo-dyed warp yarns and white weft yarns, used mainly for jeans and jackets.
  • jerseyA soft, stretchy knitted fabric with a smooth face and a looped back, used for T-shirts, dresses and many casual garments.
  • sustainable fashionClothing designed, made and sold in ways that reduce harm to the environment and treat workers fairly, for example through better materials, less waste and longer use.

More terms: Fibres & Fabrics

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