Cotton can also be used to make breathable materials, such as are used in cotton clothing, including 100% cotton socks.

In the Americas, the earliest recorded growing and picking of cotton for use dates back about 8,000 years ago. This took place in Mexico, and the actual cotton plant used was the Gossypium hirsute, which is still used today as about the most common form of cotton cultivated. This species accounts for almost 90% of all the cotton produced in the entire world.

The Greeks and Arabs did not discover cotton or its benefits until the time of Alexander the Great. It was at this time that writers started to tell tales of trees that grew “wool” in India. It was not long after this that cotton caught on in places where it had not reached before, adding these areas to places like China, Egypt, and India that already had thriving cotton industries at the time.

In Europe in the medieval times, it was actually believed that cotton came from trees that grew tiny sheep. These trees were said to be flexible enough that the farmers could lower the branches, allowing the sheep to eat.

Of course, the notion is preposterous; however, this demonstrates the mystery and the brink of the industry as it was unfolding. Cotton was a sort of miracle wool that grew on plants, a veritable white gold to many industries.