An Analysis of Cotton Production in California - Example

Cotton China and India are the two countries, who are the leading producers of cotton for the year the difference between the two cotton hubs is of few hundred thousand metric tons. The two giants are followed by the United States, and Pakistan comes at the fourth place at producing cotton; and at the fifth position it is Brazil. If one analyzes the top five producers of cotton at global scale, one can observe that except from America all the other four countries are in developing phase. This notion is clearly justified by the annual per capita GDP of all the states mentioned above. Further, a survey of textile market across the globe reinforce the fact that cotton production, and textile manufacturing is trade that is expanding in the underdeveloped quarters of the world. Countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and etc. are among the leading producers of textile products, this because the West is shifting its production house towards East in order to utilize its space more efficiently, and exploit cheap labor. The rise capitalism and globalization of the market has been one of the defining features of today’s cotton industry. Despite the fact that America is self-sufficient in cotton, and it is the home for some of the leading textile brands, still the clothes available in the market are usually manufactured in South Asian countries. It must be noted that America is the world’s leading exporter of cotton. The five leading cotton producing states of US are Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, and Mississippi. Almost 99% of the cotton produced in US is of Upland category, while the remaining under 1% is American Pima (Cottonwood Arizona). In the recent times the slogan of sustainability has been raised by every corporate businessman; however, the truth is against this idea, sustainability is impossible to achieve with ever mounting demand, scarce source, and limited capabilities (York). Transparency and traceability are the two defining characteristics of a sustainable supply chain, the process to achieving it may seem quiet complex, and however, it is not at all impossible. Cotton is one of the most difficult produce to trace because it is traded as an international commodity, and due to hefty processes involved in the supply chain from fiber to retail (York). Cultivation and Harvesting Cotton grows well in areas that have long summers, with medium rainfall; it does not grow well in areas experiencing frost. Further, the crop is prone to several pests; therefore, it needs intensive care. A single attack of pest can ruin the whole produce, and make its producer bankrupt. The increasing demand of cotton has intensified the operations within the operation, and subsistent farming is replaced by mechanized farming, which has been a great blow for the farmers with minimal resources, moreover, genetic manipulation of cotton has added new varieties, which require specific artificial conditioning, there demand in the market has pushed organic onto back foot (Gutierrez, Falcon and Loew 127). Ginning of Raw Cotton Ginning is one of the crucial steps involved in the cotton business; it is the separation of waste or byproducts from the fiber. Raw cotton brought to the cotton gin contains 55% of cotton seed, 35% lint which is obviously final product, and the remaining 10% contains waste. The process of separating the lint from the seeds may not be considered as complex, but it demands enormous amount of time to conduct it manually. However, in the present day ginning is conducted at the industrial units by cotton gin. The invention of this machine has been a great source of improvisation for the whole cotton supply chain, as it saves money, labor, and energy, as a modern can separate more than two hundred thousand kilograms of seed cotton. Prior to loading in the gin, it is dried to remove extra moisture, and reduce the moisture content to 5 percent of the total mass, and the raw sample is cleaned (for removing foreign particles like dirt, sticks and etc.). Once the cotton is cleaned it is moved to the gin stand, where it is subjected to final separation of seed from the lint. Cotton Classification The process of classification is very important for the cotton business; it is mainly applied for quality assurance. The methods of classification are mainly divided into two broad categories; they are traditional and modern modes of classification. The traditional method is dependent on human senses, it employs trained classers. The five characteristics that are considered by the classers are color, staple (length of lint), trash (waste content), character, and strength. The modern method of classification is conducted via high volume instruments (HVI). Parameters that are analyzed by these high tech machines include color grade, length or staple of lint, micronaire (it is the fineness of cotton that determines the extent of smoothness in the spinning operation), trash and dust, and the strength of fiber. Every bale that is 227 Kg of cotton lint is classified after being analyzed in the HVI, the outcome of these analysis suggest the final price, usefulness, and the potential market for a cotton bale. The usual grading method includes five classes; they are low, lower, medium, high, and premium. Warehousing As aforementioned the journey of cotton fiber to fabric involves multiple steps, and each operation within the supply chain is conducted separately. Therefore, to ensure quality standards of produce during intermediary delays, storing or warehousing becomes inevitable, because the cotton bales obtained after ginning and classification are to be moved to other production units, and before their transport the duty lies on the storekeeper to look after the goods, and ensure strict measures. The rationale behind warehousing is keeping all grades of cotton separately, selling or transporting the cotton to the next buyer in the chain, and to avoid wastage and contamination of cotton bales. Spinning to Produce Yarn The bales obtained from the warehouse are further used to produce yarns. The first step involved is opening, blending and cleaning, all these operations carried out with help of machines. Cleaning and blending is followed by carding, which is also regarded as the heart of spinning mill. During this step cotton fibers are individualized, aligned, and cleaned, which leads to formation of continuous loose rope, commonly known as silver. To further improve the evenness of silver, they are straightened, and their density is homogenized according to desired thickness, by removing extra fiber. Combing is a value adding step which removes every sort of waste left after carding, and the end product is smoother and much refined, therefore, the price of combed yarns is higher than the carded yarns. The next step in the spinning involves making of the roving, which is a few millimeter thick and twisted to keep the fibers condensed and compacted. The final stage in this step is of spinning which can be conducted by three methods, they are ring spinning, rotor spinning, and air jet spinning. Manufacturing of Fabrics Cotton yarns can be converted into fabric by two different methods; these methods are weaving and knitting. Initially the process of weaving was carried out manually, however, with the advancement in the technology, the centuries old craft is converted into a high volume producing operation at an industrial skill. The woven fabric depends on one key principle that involves interlacing of yarns. Mechanical weaving is carried out by a machine known as loom. There are three different kinds of weaving, which are further differentiated on the basis of minor variation; they include the plain weave, the satin weave, and the twill weave. The end product of all weaves show a different pattern of interlaced yarns of cotton. Knitting is the type of fabric manufacturing technique, it is much simpler, as it involve formation of yarn loop, and joining of the two neighboring loops, the end product is relatively more stretchable than the weaved produce. The two main patterns obtained from knitting are wales and courses. Product Finishing An array of value added techniques are available for providing finishing touches to the fabric obtained from weaving or from knitting. These processes are listed as follows: Scouring- for removal of micro-dust particles Bleaching- to add off white shade Gassing- to provide smooth finishing Sanforising- for preventing shrinkage of fabric Water Repellency- this makes cotton a water repellent, and prevents it from absorbing water. Conclusion The ever increasing competition, the advancement of technology in the mode of production, and the expanding markets has done more harm than good. Man is bound to exploit the maximum from the nature, and if the natural capacity is already being acquired, he may opt for artificial methods of generating maximum yield. Cotton industry is no different, and over the centuries following the Industrial revolution, this industry has evolved several folds. Initially, the key stakeholders in this business were farmers, weavers, shopkeepers, and the customers. However, with expansion of the business, there has been a severe compartmentalization within the supply chain of cotton, and it has added a number of new key players into the chain. The addition of new processes, and the specialization of processes have reduced the share of farmer, and labor at the basic scale, while the companies running the industrial units, and the middle man involved within the supply chain are extracting maximum out of the consumer, and the producer. References Cottonwood Arizona. Cottonwood Arizona History. January 2015. 29 January 2015 . Gutierrez, A. P., et al. ""An analysis of cotton production in California: a model for Acala cotton and the effects of defoliators on its yields." 4, no. 1 (1975): 125-136." Environmental Entomology (1975): 125-136. York, M. On Cotton: Understanding Risks in the Global Supply Chain. 19 January 2015. 29 January 2015 . Read More