Visiting cotton fields and craftspeople of Gujarat, one of the world's great cotton-producing regions, sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole into the history and craft behind one of our most beloved fabrics.
Speaking with local farmers about the growing challenges of heat and drought, and learning first-hand from skilled weavers about the cultural meaning of cotton, made me want to understand the fabric on a deeper level: where it comes from, how it became so ubiquitous, and what makes it so special.
The history of cotton in these local areas is deeply rooted. Archeological evidence suggests cotton was being spun and weaved into fabric from around 5000 BCE in the Indus Valley, modern-day Gujurat.
For most of its history cotton was a luxury good, traded across the Mediterranean and reserved for the nobility, before Arab traders spread cotton westward and first adopted it as everyday wear. Ancient Egyptians cultivated cotton along the fertile Nile River, which cultivates exceptionally long staple fibres, producing the stronger, softer thread, which earns Egyptian cotton's luxury reputation.
With industrialisation, everything accelerated. When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793, it became possible to process half a tonne of cotton a day, compared to the two or three kilograms that had previously been sorted by hand. Cotton went from luxury to commodity almost overnight.
By the 1860s, America was producing two-thirds of the world's supply, and the phrase "Cotton is King" entered the cultural vocabulary. However, that growth came at a devastating human cost, built on the brutal exploitation of enslaved people. It's important to recognise this shadow that falls across cotton's history, and whose legacy in global supply chains hasn't fully lifted.
Today, cotton is the most widely used natural textile on the planet. It's in your clothes, your bed linen, and your cotton pads. What started as a status symbol for ancient elites is now a wonderfully ordinary and essential fabric... holding a long 8,000 years history.
All the cotton we use in our bed linen is 220 thread count and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, which means our bed linen holds a gold standard in textile safety, from yard to finished product.
If you just read '220 thread count' bed linen and thought... "what does that actually mean?" Thread count is simply the number of threads woven per square inch of fabric. Generally, the higher the count, the softer and more durable the fabric, but numbers can be misleading. Here's a breakdown:
200–400: The sweet spot. Crisp, breathable, durable- percale weaves usually live here.
400–600: Denser and smoother, often sateen. Still breathable if the fibres are good.
600–800+: Often hype. Manufacturers pack in threads using multi-ply yarns, which can actually make fabric heavier and less breathable.
1000+: Almost always misleading. Genuine 1000+ sheets exist but are rare and pricey, most are just inflated numbers on lower-quality fabric.
I was amazed to learn how complex and political the history of cotton is. Understanding this made me appreciate the fabric even more; to think about all the people, from Ancient Egyptians to the cotton farmers and craftspeople I met in Gujarat, all turning the cotton plant into beautiful fabric.