African Cotton

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the largest cotton producers worldwide. In Africa cotton is almost exclusively grown by smallholder farmers, and there are only very few large plantations. The cotton plant loves warmth – it needs about 200 days of sunshine in the season to flourish and bear fruit. For that reason alone, it does well in the dry or humid savannas of Africa. The climate, with its high average temperatures and alternation between dry and wet seasons favours the growing of this natural fibre crop.

It takes about six months from planting to harvesting of cotton. After the harvest, seed and fibre are separated from each other in the gins, and the thin coating of wax that surrounds the fibres and protects them from wetness is removed. At the end, the raw cotton is pressed into large bales, and sold onward to the spinning mills for yarn manufacture. Thus it starts its trip along the textile chain – from the spinning mill to the finished garment.