The history of cotton ginning is a fascinating one. While many of us learn in history classes about inventor Eli Whitney’s breakthrough design for the modern cotton gin, most of us may not know that the cotton industry is writing new chapters in the story of ginning, even today. Continue reading
As with many businesses, the wipes sector is facing challenges on multiple fronts. Of particular concern for many discerning consumers and environmentally-focused companies is how the industry is striving to become more sustainable.
Global brands and private label manufacturers are developing new products to meet new sustainability and biodegradability demands by consumers and government agencies. We know from our work that cotton meets those requirements and many more such as product needs for materials that are natural, soft, safe, and hypoallergenic. Not only does purified cotton qualify for these needs, it’s also high-performing, with greater wet strength, high absorbency, and its ability to pick up and track dirt.
New product opportunities for sustainable, purified cotton include new consumer choices for baby, cosmetic, and femcare wipes. Let’s take a deeper dive on the issue of sustainability and wipes. Continue reading
In the latest installment of our Know Your Fibers series, we’re taking a look at two of the dominant fibers used in multiple industry applications: cotton and polyester. Most people know that cotton is a natural fiber and polyester is a man-made, synthetic fiber. These differences are just the beginning, however, so let’s take a deeper dive on the unique properties of these fibers and how they’re processed. Continue reading
After cotton is harvested from the fields and is initially cleaned in the ginning process, it must be further cleaned and prepared for its use in the production of nonwoven and unspun applications. The processes for this stage of cleaning typically involve further mechanical cleaning to remove finer pieces of stem, stalk, and leaf and extraneous field matter as well as processes to remove potentially harmful bacteria, molds, and other contaminations from the fiber. The specific technologies and sophistication of the processes used in cleaning the fibers will differentiate the product’s final level of quality and usefulness. Methods vary from supplier to supplier, some will use mechanical cleaning alone or add a sterilization process at the end. But there’s only one way to get cotton to its cleanest, whitest state that’s preferred by consumers worldwide, and that’s through a process called purification. Continue reading
It would certainly be nice if cotton came to us purified and ready to use, right out of the field. But this simply isn’t reality. Freshly-picked cotton has roughly 650,000 harmful colony-forming units (CFUs) within it; this means natural cotton, straight from the field, is filled with molds, fungi, bacteria, and other impurities. Thus, it has to be purified. Continue reading
The goal of our Know Your Fibers series is to provide up-to-date educational information about different types of fibers for our Barnhardt readers. In this post, we’ll take a look at how cotton compares to viscose rayon.
Purchasers often compare viscose rayon to cotton products. In previous articles, we’ve compared viscose to purified cotton, and we’ve also discussed false labeling claims, where viscose rayon was used instead of bamboo in fabrics that claimed to be natural. Whether you’re a product developer or a consumer, you’re probably quite familiar with the historic strengths and advancements in cotton applications, while you may need to learn more about viscose material.
Take a look at this brief Q + A that establishes some definitions and points of contrast between all-natural cotton and its artificial counterpart, viscose rayon. Continue reading
Though organic cotton has a long way to go before it replaces conventional cotton, it’s been riding the organic wave that was started in the fruit and vegetable section of your local grocery store. While consumers mostly come into contact with organic cotton in their clothing, organic cotton is slowly moving into the consumer products market as well. Continue reading
In late March, the Barnhardt team traveled to sunny Miami Beach for the 2019 IDEA Conference, the premier global event for nonwovens and engineered fabrics, two important sectors for the company’s purified cotton products.
The IDEA Conference, an event produced by the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) took place March 25-28 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The annual conference attracts more than 7,000 attendees and more than 550 exhibiting companies from over 70 countries representing nearly every continent. Continue reading
Consumer demand for organic cotton has been increasing for the last several years, and so has the demand for cotton on the surface of hygiene products. At the intersection of these two demands has been a previously unmet need, so Barnhardt recently jumped into the market with our new Organic HyDri® Purified Cotton.