Why Are Most Underwear Made From Cotton?

Cotton is often titled "the fiber of life" and its basic use for generations underscores this. Archeological finds in Peru, Mexico and India suggest cotton has been clothing people for over 5,000 years. In addition to clothing, cotton touches daily life across the world in household textiles, medical and personal hygiene products, cooking oils and animal feeds. Today over 90 countries generate revenue from cotton around the world. What is it about this product that has withstood the test of time, the changing demands of fashion and the transformations in technology?

Cotton fiber is one of the most economically important nonfood plant commodities on the market as it costs less to process than other plant fibers. Each cotton plant produces a large amount of fiber year round and can be harvested for up to six years. It has a fine deep root system, which can survive up to 5 years without surface water. Arid soils that generally do not support other crops can be used for cotton growing and no maintenance after sowing, fertilizers or pesticides are required. In fact, native cotton plants are resistant to over 250 different pests and organisms that hybrids are not. Additionally, cotton varieties can be developed to suit different growing regions with differing environmental and cultural conditions.

Cotton is the essential core of the underwear business and the business is then built from there. Cotton is a soft staple fiber that is used to make soft breathable textiles. Nowhere is this more important than in undergarments. However, this has not always been recognized and acted upon in the underwear industry throughout time. Historically, the first cotton boxer shorts with buttons were developed for soldiers for summer wear during WWI. Soldiers returning from the war desired to continue this use. During the 1950's, the use of new fabrics was seen in rayon, Dacron and DuPont nylon and some women's underwear was made in sheer nylon fabric. During the 1960's, the underwear fashion industry developed a new fabric technology for better comfort with spandex and lycra. Italy's Peppino Gheduzzi developed the lycra cotton combination in conjunction with DuPont. The elasticity of these additions improved comfort with the close fitting support. Synthetic fibers however, began to lose ground in clothing due to the costs of petroleum products required in their production and the increasing backlash over the environmental concerns of producing such products.

The current push towards natural fibers and natural production has been gaining support. Sales figures support this importance and illustrate the fact that "People still gravitate towards cotton and cotton blends" as MensUnderwearStore.com and Boxers co-owner, Mike Russina states. For example, 2(x)ist states cotton styles are their top underwear sellers, and Cotton Incorporated's Lifestyle Monitor reports that 97% of male customers prefer underwear made of cotton and 1% choose cotton/poly blend.

Although not one of the top five cotton producing nations (China, India, Pakistan, Turkey and United States), in terms of cotton mill use, Peru is currently considered the producer of the world's finest quality cotton. With an ancient tradition of raising cotton, Peruvian indigenous people are known to have been harvesting wild cotton 10,000 years ago, and Egyptian cotton is believed to have been semi-domesticated in coastal Peru in 2,500 BC according to archeological remains. Pima cotton is considered to have derived from the "yuma" cottonseed developed in Arizona and first grown in Peru in 1918. The extra long staple (ELS) cotton was renamed Pima (previously American Egyptian) in honor of the Pima Indians helping to raise the cotton in Arizona. Peruvian pima cotton production increased from 28,307 bales in 1930 to 300,000 bales in 1997. Today Indian descendents of ancient Peruvian cultures still harvest, gin and spin by hand - just as it had been done in domestication of cotton in Peru over 4500 years ago. Peruvian Pima cotton is considered the king of luxury cottons because if its exceptional softness and brilliant luster. Perfect growing conditions in the northern coastal valleys allow the soil to soak up just the right amount of moisture at a near perfect equatorial temperature. Hand harvesting does not result in the scratchy impurities that industrial harvesting creates. Alenver Inc. has selected Peruvian pima cotton for its collection of underwear. It is produced in Peru because of its proximity to the quality cotton source. All Alenver products are made from 95% pure Peruvian pima cotton for comfort and 5% elastane for shape retention and fit.

The development of the underwear industry seems to have shadowed the larger fashion industry in its fabric selection. Cotton's value in comfort, fit, durability and sustainability in growth and harvesting makes it the best choice for today's educated and environmentally aware underwear consumer.