April 21, 2023Organic Cotton

10 Cotton Facts For Little People With Inquisitive Minds

Did you know you can eat cotton? Or that it's used to make bank notes? Over half of the clothes we wear in the UK are made from cotton, but where and how are they made? Help your children to connect with what they wear with these 10 fun facts. Download a copy of your poster for more information, or read the facts below.

Here are 10 of our top cotton facts for little people with inquisitive minds.

1. Cotton has been around for a very long time. It has been used by people for over 7,000 years!

2. Cotton is a plant, grown in over 85 countries around the world. The top countries for growing cotton are China, India, the United States and Pakistan.

3. Cotton is the world’s largest non-food crop.

4. It takes around 6 months for a planted cotton seed to be ready to harvest.

5. Cotton crops grow 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) high. In the wild cotton plants grow much higher, up to 20 feet (6 metres). That’s as big as a two storey house!

6. Over half of the UK clothes are made from cotton. But cotton isn’t just used to make clothing. It’s also used to make things like tents, bank notes, fishing nets and bandages.

7. What happens when different materials get wet? Paper breaks and dissolves. Silk loses its strength. And wool shrinks. Cotton on the other hand gets stronger when wet. That’s why it’s such a good material for bath towels, face cloths and tents.

8. Did you know we can eat cotton? Cottonseed oil can be found in things like margarine, vegetable oil and mayonnaise.

9. Growing cotton can use a lot of water. It takes up to 2,700 litres of water to create one cotton t-shirt. That’s enough water for one person to drink for 900 days!

10. Thankfully the production of organic cotton uses less water by avoiding nasty chemicals, using healthy soil and farming more responsibly.

Fancy sharing these facts with others? You can download a copy of your poster here.