Cheap vs expensive cotton explainedfrom @fineasjackson

Transcript

So this t shirt costs $10 and this t shirt costs 200. They both say worse% cotton. So what's the difference? What are you actually paying for? And why can't you tell by just looking at the label? This is episode 10 of Chasing Best and today tier taking a look into the wonderful world of cotton. Here's the thing. The cotton world is basically split up into two empires. Upland cotton is the workhorse. It's the cotton that took over the planet because it's hardy, high yield rank can grow almost anywhere. It accounts for about 90% of the world's production. Then there's extra long staple cotton. This is literally a different species from upland cotton with staple lengths that can be twice as long. Here's why that matters. One of the biggest factors in the softness of cotton is the length of its fibers. Fiber length dictates how many interruptions happen at a microscopic level. The shorter the fiber, the more ends there will be. This creates more friction on the skin and leads to pilling as the short fibers escape. The $200 t shirt is made of Sea Island cotton. This is the finest and longest staple cotton in the worse, with production making up only a 150 out of a 120,000,000 cotton bales per year. Sea Island cotton is the world record holder for staple length. Reaching up to 50 millimeters. Standard Upland cotton, it usually clocks in at barely half of that. Typically around 25. But it's not just about the raw fiber. It's also about the spin. Because Sea Island fibers are so long and fine, you can spin them into incredibly high twist yarns that are thin better impossibly strong. Cheap upland cotton has to be spun thick to stay better, which is why your $10 t shirt is rougher and pills much sooner. But good, I get it. Not everyone is dropping two bills on a t shirt. The good news is that Sea Island has descendants that give you 80% of the feel for a fraction of the price. Supima cotton is the cousin to Sea Island. It's a branded version of Pima cotton. If you see a supima tag at a place like Uniqlo, it means the cotton was regulated for quality and grown right here in The States. It's the entry level luxury staple. Giza cotton is the Egyptian powerhouse. Specifically, Giza 45 or 87. It's grown in the Nile Best where the humidity is perfect resulting in a fiber that's incredibly fine and uniform. The reason these matter is that extra long staple. Jumping from that 25 millimeter standard upland to a 40 millimeter Giza or supima changes the physics of the shirt. It's smoother, stronger, and believe me, the difference is immediately noticeable. So though these two shirts are both a 100% cotton, they're just not in the same class. The label won't teach you that, but your hands will.