The fiber of cotton is obtained from cotton wool which is wrapped around the seeds of Gossypium plants. 

The weaving of cotton comes from Prehistory. Fragments of cotton, dated to V Millenium B.C have been found in the Hindu valley civilisation. However, cotton was present in India and Peru before the second Millenium B.C. and it was widely known to the Aztecs in America. The first evidence of the existence of this fiber, is from Pakistan, Tehuacan and Mexico (5000 years ago).

During the IV B.C. Alexander the Great created, in Alexandria, the most important distribution center of fine Indian cotton.

The Arabs, when they conquered Spain, brought to Europe all the weaving and spinning techniques  as well as the cultivation of cotton, which was interrupted during the rebellions against Arabs in the 17th century.

Portugal, became the most important importer of fine Indian cotton and after a few centuries, England started the Industrial revolution which brought the production of fabrics to the United Kingdom. 

In a short time, the cultivation and lavoration of cotton was exported to America. The cost of production was reduced thanks to the invention of sgranatrice di cotone, and the production of cotton was widely spread. Today cotton is the most used natural fiber fabric used in the clothing sector. It is imported in Italy in many variations: in fiocco, spun, dyed, and it is transformed ‘in loco’ or exported.

In the past, cotton was obtained using wooden tools or manually. After extracting cotton from the homonymous plant, a little ball of filaments would be created, the ball would be treated and consequently it would be sent to the textile industries.

The main characteristic of cotton is inelasticity: humid fibers are stronger than the dried ones. In fact, it leaves a sensation of freshness on the skin.

 

Viscose is a fabric that comes from cellulose. it is similar to the fabrics historically used. One of its features is the silky shiness, that is why it used to be called artificial silk.

Viscose was invented in 1883 by the French chemist Hilaire Bernigaud de Chardonnet, who presented it at the Parisian International Exposition in 1891.

In 1902 the industrial method of the production of viscose was patented in the United Kingdom by Charles Cross, Edward Bevan and Clayton Beadle. The three chemists gave the patent to Samuel Courtauld, and he started the industrial production of viscose in 1906.

Viscose was initially called artificial silk and from 1924 it was called rayon. Viscose was created due to the high demand of fabrics similar to silk.