The Indian cotton industry was eclipsed during the British Industrial Revolution, when the invention of the Spinning Jenny (1764) and Arkwright's spinning frame (1769) enabled cheap mass-production in the UK. Production capacity was further improved by the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793.

Production

The cotton industry relies heavily on chemicals such as fertilisers and insecticides, although some farmers are moving towards an organic model of production, and chemical-free organic cotton products are now available. Historically, one of the most economically destructive pests in cotton production has been the boll weevil.

Most cotton is harvested mechanically, either by a cotton picker, a machine that removes the cotton from the boll without damaging the cotton plant, or by a cotton stripper which strips the entire boll off the plant. Cotton strippers are generally used in regions where it is too windy to grow picker varieties of cotton and generally used after application of a defoliant or natural defoliation occurring after a freeze. Cotton is a perennial crop in the tropics and without defoliation or freezing, the plant will continue to grow. Cotton is a close relative of okra and hibiscus.

The logistics of cotton harvesting and processing have been improved by the development of the cotton module builder, a machine that compresses harvested cotton into a large block, which is then covered with a tarp and temporarily stored at the edge of the field.

Denim, a type of durable cloth, is made mostly of cotton, as are T-shirts.

The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce cottonseed oil, which after refining can be consumed by humans like any other vegetable oil. The cottonseed meal that is left is generally fed to livestock.

The introduction of GM cotton proved to be a commercial disaster in Australia - the yields were far lower than predicted, and the cotton plants cross-pollinated with other varieties of cotton potentially causing many legal problems for unsuspecting farmers. However the introduction of a second variety of GM cotton led to 15% of Australian cotton being GM in 2003 with an expectation of 80% in 2004 when the original variety will be banned

1. Ginning
2. Spinning
3. Weaving

After weaving, cotton typically fabric passes through several processing stages. After some stages the fabric can be directly used in the final product, for example unbleached cloth is used in grain bags. Typical stages are:

1. Singeing
2. Desizing
3. Scouring
4. Bleaching
5. Mercerizing
6. Dyeing
7. Finishing

• 1 thread = 54 inches (c. 137 cm)
• 1 skein or rap = 80 threads (120 yards or c. 109 m)
• 1 hank = 7 skeins (840 yards or c. 768 m)
• 1 spindle = 18 hanks (15,120 yards or c. 13.826 km)