Cotton is a part of our daily lives and has hundreds of uses, from blue jeans to soap. All parts of the cotton plant are useful, the most important being the fibre or lint, which is used to make yarn for cotton cloth. The linters (the short fuzz on the seed) provide amongst others cellulose for making plastics, explosives and other products whilst the cottonseed itself is crushed into three separate products namely oil, meal and hulls. The oil is used primarily for shortening, cooking oil and salad dressing whilst the meal and hulls that remain are mainly used either separately or in combination as livestock, poultry and fish feed and as fertilizer. ...

Cotton has been used as a fibre for more than 7000 years! Unlike fossil based fibres, cotton is sustainable, renewable, biodegradable, and carbon neutral and can be used without depleting or damaging the environment, thus making it an excellent choice as an environmentally-friendly fibre throughout its entire product life cycle. New technology, such as insect-resistant and drought-resistant varieties, continues to reduce the need for pesticides and water. These same varieties will improve yields, allowing for more cotton to be grown on the same amount of land. ...

Cotton South Africa is a non-profit organisation that brings together both private and public sector organisations involved in the entire cotton industry value chain, including producers, organised labour, consumer organisations and service providers, to stabilise employment and improve overall competitiveness in the cotton industry. We promote a Southern African regional value chain which will result in capacity that is more resilient and more robust. ...