Cotton is a soft substance like soft wool. It is obtained from a plant of the same name. It is cultivated all over the world, but mainly grown in the U.S.A, India, Egypt, Brazil, etc. Indian cotton crop is the second largest product in the world.
Cotton plants grow tall. Some remain low in size. Pods generally come to the plants in autumn. They burst when ripe, and then come back numerous black seeds covered with white cotton. It is then gathered, cleared of seeds, packed in bales and dispatched for sales in the market.
Cotton is used for making textiles, quilt, bed sheets, mattresses, etc. It is used in various forms as household goods and also in certain machineries. There are many cotton mills in India, where spinning and weaving of cloth are done by machines.
In the handloom industry, cloth is made by the weavers from the yarn spun with the help of charkha by individuals in the villages. Indian cotton goods are exported in large quantity to different countries of the world.