Cotton

Welcome to our Inquiry ‘Cotton On To This!’

Our Central Idea: Production of goods is determined by people, place, economic and environmental factors.

Our Lines of Inquiry:

  • Cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer.
  • Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment.
  • We can take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production.
  • Factors affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.

Scroll through this HaikuDeck and apply your See-Think-Wonder thinking routine.

 

 

87 thoughts on “Cotton

  • October 17, 2017 at 6:22 pm
    Permalink

    I found out that cotton comes from a plant.
    when the cotton is processed it is stored as a block

    my line of enquiry is why is cotton so important
    and how many countries produce cotton.

    Reply
    • October 18, 2017 at 11:48 am
      Permalink

      Thanks for your comment Rohan. I really like your first line of inquiry about why cotton is so important. i like it because you just can’t google the answer!

      Reply
  • October 18, 2017 at 4:25 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Miss Lockyer, this is my homework for this week.

    My line of inquiry: Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment. (number 2).

    I found it interesting how cotton plants only get watered when they need it, and sometimes they don’t need to get specially water, but get their liquids from the rain! And how the cotton that has superior quality is combed specially to remove the other short fibers, in order to leave the finer, stronger and smoother fibers within it.

    In the cotton cycle it tells us that the cotton is weaved into patterns for jeans, socks, and other pieces of clothing. Is the same pattern sewn for the jeans the same as the socks, or are they different? It also says that if you recycle your clothes they can be made into something new. What are some examples of those new things?

    Reply
  • October 19, 2017 at 7:54 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is:
    cotton goes through the process from farm to consumer.

    I found out that…
    Australia only produces 5% of the world’s cotton.
    The seeds in the cotton can be used in multiple things, popular for vegetable oil and cosmetics.

    Questions:
    Why do we not realize that there is cotton all around us at every moment of our life?
    Why does Australia not use more types of fiber than cotton? e.g. polyester.
    -Charlotte

    Reply
  • October 19, 2017 at 7:57 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is cotton production, use and reuse affects the environment. One thing I learned is that cotton counts for 2.4 percent of the worlds crop land. I also learned that on average, cotton farmers have about 42% of their land dedicated to native vegetation, in order to preserve the earth. This really surprised me, and also made me quite happy.
    I am still curious about how we can reuse cotton, and I would like to find out what percentage of the world’s clothes are made from cotton.

    Reply
  • October 19, 2017 at 8:16 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is “cotton production, use and reuse affects the environment.” One thing I found out was that on average, cotton farmers have 42% of their land dedicated to native wildlife and vegetation. This really surprised me. I also found out that cotton accounts for 2.4% of the world’s crop land. I am still curious about the different ways cotton is used other than clothing, and how we can reuse it. I would also like to find out what percentage of the world’s clothes are made from cotton.

    Reply
  • October 20, 2017 at 8:40 am
    Permalink

    Cotton goes through a process form farm to consumer.

    Australia only produces only 5% of the world’s cotton.
    The seeds in the cotton can be used in multiple things, popular for vegetable oil and cosmetics.

    Why do we not realize that there is cotton all around us at every moment of our life?
    Why does Australia not use more of the other fibers? E.g. polyester.

    Reply
  • October 20, 2017 at 5:59 pm
    Permalink

    1. The major buyers of Australian cotton are currently China (68%), Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Bangladesh and Japan.
    2. In the cotton farms, they remove any remaining knots or tangles that isn’t cotton (now becomes pure cotton).
    Line of inquiry: ‘we can take action to reduce the negative effect of cotton production’.

    Reply
  • October 21, 2017 at 11:36 am
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is we can take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production.

    I found out that one of the main things that creates negative effects in cotton production is huge water use, it can take up to 2,700 litres of water to get a T-shirt from seed to you. The second thing I found out was that the Arel Sea is getting smaller every year because of the huge amount of water it takes to grow cotton.

    My two questions are what can we do to use less water and how else does cotton badly effect the environment.

    Reply
  • October 21, 2017 at 1:04 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry: Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment. (No. 2)

    Two interesting things I found out: On average every Australian spends over 2,000 dollars on clothing and footwear.
    People first grew cotton 5,000 years ago in Pakistan and now it is grown in more than 100 countries.

    Two questions I still have: Are there different materials that we can use instead of cotton to reduce the impact on the environment?
    Why don’t people reconise throwing out clothes as an environmental issue?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2017 at 3:35 pm
    Permalink

    For my cotton inquiry I chose the line ‘cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment’. so far about this inquiry line I have found out that cotton production can wash out soils and pollute rivers and ground waters., and a lot more stuff that can pollute or effect the environment. It also wastes a lot of water because in the process of growing cotton and getting it, it uses a lot of water.
    – Asha

    Reply
  • October 21, 2017 at 3:36 pm
    Permalink

    2 interesting things that I have found about cotton are:
    Production and processing cotton uses a large amount of water. 3781L of water is used to make only one pair of jean.
    If 300 million of people reused just one T-shirt, we would save 210 billion gallons of water.
    My 2 lines of inquiry are:
    What can we do to reduce the impact of cotton?
    Are there any other options regarding fabric that may be used in stead of cotton?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 9:26 am
    Permalink

    I found it interesting that cotton came from a plant and that there are actually cotton

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 9:36 am
    Permalink

    I found it interesting that cotton came from a plant and that there are actually cotton farms!
    My Questions are:
    1. How big can cotton plants get?
    2. How many cotton farms are in Perth?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 9:59 am
    Permalink

    I found out that cotton modules are as big as a small house and weigh 13000kg. I also found out that the cotton plant first produces a pinky cream fruit that when pollinated falls of and then the cotton boll grows (Which is where the cotton is on the plant.) My line of inquiry is cotton goes through a process from farmer to consumer. I wonder what will we do when there is no cotton left. I also wonder how the machines at the ‘gin’ are used.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 11:04 am
    Permalink

    1 of the 2 things that I have learned from this is that 50% of all we wear is cotton and I also learned that cotton has seeds in it that can be used as veggie oil and things like that.
    my line of inquiry is cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer.
    my questions are
    what are all the uses of cotton seeds? and
    can cotton be grown year-round or in seasons?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 12:16 pm
    Permalink

    2 Interesting things that I have found about Cotton are :
    Production and processing cotton uses a large amount of water. 3781 L of Water is used to male only one pair of jean.
    If 300 million people reused just One T-shirt, we would save 210 billion gallons of water.
    My 2 lines of Inquiry are:
    What can we do to reduce the impact of Cotton?
    Are there any other options regarding fabric that may be used instead of Cotton?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 12:40 pm
    Permalink

    I found out that it takes around 2,700 liters of water to make a simple cotton T-shirt and 10,000 to make a pair of jeans.

    my line of enquiry is we can all take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 1:52 pm
    Permalink

    My inquiry is on the countries that rely on cotton, positive and negative effects of cotton production on those countries. I also am researching what would happen if a country would suddenly be unable to produce cotton, and if that situation might happen when the Aral Sea as no water left. So far I have found that over 100 countries produce cotton . Uzbekistan is a very small country, with 31 million people in 450,000 square kilometres of land. Its major industry is cotton production. It is the 6th biggest producer of cotton, and is one of the countries that is using the Aral Sea as a water source. It has recently started to produce wheat as its main industry, and will be able to keep its economy up without cotton. The positive effects of cotton production are that it earns money for a country and provides jobs. The negative effects are that it uses up a massive amount of water, it can sometimes make children work, and some of the cotton refineries are very unsafe and cramped.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 2:03 pm
    Permalink

    My line of enquiry is How does cotton production affect the planet? I have found out that 10 L of water is used to make a pair of jeans. I also found out that cotton seeds are used to make oils and the plant is used as animal feed. I wonder how cotton was first used for and how much people wear cotton around the world.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 3:20 pm
    Permalink

    Interesting facts.
    Cotton needs to have a long growing season of 120 – 180 days of frost free weather. The soil should be above 15 degrees Celsius.
    You could 8.2 bales of cotton on just 1 hectare of land in Australia this year.
    Questions.
    Why is cotton so cheap?
    Why is cotton used so commonly?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2017 at 7:32 pm
    Permalink

    I found out that 40% of the worlds clothing is made out of cotton.
    It takes approximately 2700 liters of water to produce one cotton shirt.
    Why don’t we use other materials to replace cotton?
    And is it possible to get back the material from a shirt after it has been made?

    my inquiry is what makes cotton so popular in the fashion industry and do the companies realise how much resources are being used?

    Reply
  • October 23, 2017 at 8:21 am
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry of inquiry is cotton production and use and reuse affects the environment

    Cotton is put into bales and sent to spinners overseas.
    Cotton actually gets twisted together to create yarn.
    I wonder why clothes are more commonly made in countries like China?
    Is there a more efficient fabric to make clothes out of?

    Reply
    • October 23, 2017 at 12:28 pm
      Permalink

      Hello Pavin, I am really impressed with your big questions – they can’t be answered from a straight-up Google search! Let me know if you would like any tips for reliable or interesting sources.

      Reply
  • October 23, 2017 at 8:48 am
    Permalink

    My Question: How Can I become more Sustainable?
    Fact 1: All the Polyester ever made still exists.
    Fact 2: 70% of shops do not know what is in their clothing.
    Questions I still have: How could I help the community around me to be more sustainable/ help out & donate?

    Reply
    • October 23, 2017 at 12:26 pm
      Permalink

      Zoe, I’m impressed with your new knowledge and your idea. Please let me know if you think of any other ideas how you could help.

      Reply
  • October 24, 2017 at 7:56 pm
    Permalink

    We Can Take Action to Reduce Negative Effects of Cotton

    2 things I found interesting:
    • I found that cotton is grown on fields and uses copious amounts of water to grow.
    • The Aral sea is only 1/10 of its original size because of its water being used on cotton.

    Questions:
    • What is the worst effect of cotton production?
    • What is the most effective and environmentally friendly way to farm cotton?
    • How much does cotton farming cost, and what are the requirements to produce cotton?

    Reply
    • October 30, 2017 at 12:57 pm
      Permalink

      Thanks for the excellent questions Josh. I hope you are enjoying your research topic.

      Reply
  • October 25, 2017 at 5:39 pm
    Permalink

    My inquiry question is cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer.

    I found interesting that there are bugs that like to eat cotton and that it takes 6,813 liters of water to make a T shirt.
    I am still confused about why people get rid of the dyes then put them in the ocean and why are so many cotton factories dangerous to work in?

    Reply
    • October 30, 2017 at 12:56 pm
      Permalink

      Ben, I’m really impressed with your questions. They are very worthwhile and will take more than a quick Google search to answer. Good luck – let me know if you need any help with information searches.

      Reply
  • October 15, 2018 at 5:35 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Miss Lockyer, this is my homework for this week.

    My line of inquiry = Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment. (Number 2).

    I found it interesting how cotton plants only need to get watered when they need it, and sometimes they don’t need to get especially water, but just get water from the rain. Another thing i found interesting is that the seeds in the cotton can be used because the the seeds are high in oil and are a valuable raw material for a host of vegetable oil products and cosmetic and as well for stock feed.

    My first question is that why are cotton and polyester so popular. Are they just so comfortable?
    My second question is that why does Australia only use cotton and polyester why can’t they use other different fibers.

    Reply
    • October 16, 2018 at 6:53 am
      Permalink

      Thanks for the interesting information about when cotton plants need watering. I wonder if digital watering sensors are used? Your question about the different fibres is good. I’m now going to check my wardrobe for two natural fibres: hemp and wool.

      Reply
  • October 15, 2018 at 5:35 pm
    Permalink

    Interesting Facts
    Cotton was worn for clothes over 7,000 years ago. Scientists found this evidence in caves in Mexico.
    People dip cotton balls in juice to try get a smaller waistline, this has been proven to be potentially deadly to the human health.
    2 Question
    How did people turn cotton into clothing?
    Why is Egyptian cotton better than normal cotton?

    Reply
    • October 16, 2018 at 6:50 am
      Permalink

      Henry, you’ve got me curious about the cotton balls in juice! Let me know where you found the information to save me my Googling time. I really like your question about Egyptian cotton, and now I’m wondering if it actually comes from Egypt?

      Reply
  • October 17, 2018 at 5:10 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry was – we can take action to reduce the negative effects cotton production.
    Two interesting things I found was that is planted straight in to a stubble or a previous crop and are put in that specific spot so nutrients can be maintained and helps keep the moisture in.
    The 2nd interesting thing I found out about the process of cotton production was that over the Summer the cotton balls fill with lint and seed and then after splits open which shows the cotton which is then ready to pick.
    2 questions that I still have is, ‘If we changed the process to making cotton or producing cotton would that outweigh the pros to the cons?’ The 2nd question is, ‘Is there another way to produce cotton?’

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 8:57 am
    Permalink

    I have chosen the inquiry question number 2 (Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment)
    Aussies send 85% of textiles to landfill each year.
    Beneficial bugs (the enemies of pests) that help grow cotton are being infected by pesticides and if other larger animals eat these insects then those larger animals will die.

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 4:39 pm
    Permalink

    This is my homework for this week.
    My line of inquiry is cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment.
    Interesting facts.
    Cotton was used back in 450BC in Peru.
    Did you know cotton is stronger when it is wet?
    My questions.

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 4:41 pm
    Permalink

    I chose the first question Cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer.

    Interesting facts
    1. The word cotton comes from the Arabic word ‘qutun’ or’ kutun’.
    2. The best quality cotton comes from Australia and Egypt.

    Questions I still have
    1. Why do you have to use gloves when working with cotton?
    2. Why is it that Egypt and Australia make the best cotton.

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 4:43 pm
    Permalink

    This was my homework this week.
    My inquiry line is cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment.
    Interesting facts.
    Cotton was found in Peru 450BC.
    Did you know cotton is stronger when wet?
    My questions
    Are most of the clothes that are made cotton?
    Is cotton flammable?

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 4:52 pm
    Permalink

    Homework
    By Jamie
    My line of Inquiry was 1. Cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer.
    I found out that before cotton goes to be formed into fabric it has to go to a place called a gin. In a gin they clean and separate the cotton fibers.

    Two websites I found; https://cottonaustralia.com.au/uploads/resources/CEK_Chap_7_Processing_From_Gin_To_Fabric.pdf
    https://www.toyota-industries.com/products/textile/process/
    I am still wondering why Cotton is the best fabric to be used to make clothes, and also if cotton is a resource that could eventually dissapear?

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 5:23 pm
    Permalink

    My inquiry I chose was about the process that the cotton plants go through to then end up at the customers. I found out that the plants/flowers that cotton grows on is called a boll. I also found out that the way that cotton gets processed is very long.
    1. Large bales of cotton fiber are transferred to spinning mills. Spinning mills then convert fiber in to yarns
    2. These yarns or thread cones are moved to weaving.
    3. Weaving is a process of interlacing yarns to make into fabric.
    4. Fabric is in raw form therefore it goes on to next process. which is were the fabric that is weaved is then bleached and washed to clean it thoroughly.
    5. Then the fabric is dyed or printed.
    various finishes are applied, like soft, wrinkle free and easy care
    6. Then the fabric is stitched, packed and shipped to the customer.
    Question 1. I wonder what the process of the cotton is called?
    Question 2. What does it mean when they say raw fabric?

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 5:33 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Miss Lockyer these are the interesting facts I learnt about cotton.
    Line of inquiry:Cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer
    Cotton is made on farms and is farmed in many different places around the world. The cotton ball is made from what is starting as a flower bud, then it sprouts into a white flower, then into a pink flower, then back into a bud. Eventually the cotton blossoms out of the flower bud and is harvested.
    Cotton actually does not require a lot of water.Cotton uses less water than many other fibre’s. The water that cotton uses is from the rainfall.
    Question 1
    What made cotton so much more popular than other fibre’s?
    Question 2
    How did people know that cotton and other materials could be turned into clothing that people wear so often?

    Reply
  • October 18, 2018 at 8:49 pm
    Permalink

    Cotton Production, use and re-use affects the environment.
    FACTS
    1 Growing Cotton needs lots of waterr. as water in this world is very short and precious and has a huge environmental impact because of huge water usage.
    2 Another environmental impact is that cotton growers use lots of of pesticide and chemicals in the growing process these also have a negative effect on the environment.
    Another disadvantage is that natural habitat’s and lands are converted to cotton farms.

    QUESTIONS
    1 Why do so many countries use cotton when it takes their precious water and damages the environment?
    2 Should the world try to convert all cotton production to organic cotton which is safer for everyone and everything?

    Reply
  • October 19, 2018 at 7:40 am
    Permalink

    My inquiry question was We can take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production.
    One of my interesting facts about this is that over the last year Australian people have wasted 27kg of cotton which doesn’t sound like a lot but it is quite a lot.
    My second fact is that cotton has been around for a very long time. Cotton was first discovered in 450 BC in Peru and has been used in many items ever since.

    Reply
  • October 19, 2018 at 8:09 pm
    Permalink

    two interesting things about cotton:
    1.In old day’s a farmer need spend a day to picking 200 pounds of cotton, but now, a machine can do it in 90 seconds.
    2. long times ago I thought there only have one kind of cotton, but now I realized there have four kind of cotton.

    Questions:
    Why most of cloth are made of cottons?
    Why some cottons are cheap, some cottons are expensive?

    Reply
  • October 19, 2018 at 8:16 pm
    Permalink

    Interesting facts
    1. In old days a farmer needs use one days to pick up 200 pounds of cotton, but now a machine can do it in 90 seconds.
    2. When I was small I thought there only got one kind of cotton, but now I realised there got four kind of cotton.
    Questions:
    1. Why some cottons cheap some cottons expensive?
    2. Why most of cloths are made of cottons?

    Reply
  • October 20, 2018 at 10:16 am
    Permalink

    Hi Miss Lockyer this is my homework thins week.
    Inquiry line: We can take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production.

    Interesting facts:
    The climate in Egypt allows Egyptian cotton to have a longer fiber than any other cotton and is made on the side of the Nile

    Cotton farming uses more pesticides than any other area of agricultural production. This high use of pesticides poisons our air, water and soil, and has a severe impact on ecosystems, causing harm to plants and animals.

    Question:
    Why does cotton farming need so much pesticide and water and what can we do to stop using that much pesticide (e.g putting it in a glasshouse)?

    Reply
    • October 20, 2018 at 10:18 am
      Permalink

      Question 2.
      How come we produced cotton in different places and not just allow one country to produce cotton?

      Reply
  • October 20, 2018 at 11:06 am
    Permalink

    Hi Mrs. Lockyer,

    My line of inquiry is: Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment. (Number 2)

    Interesting Facts:
    One kilogram of cotton (the equivalent of a t-shirt and jeans) can take over 5,000 gallons of water to grow.
    Even though cotton farming only takes up 2.4% of the worlds agricultural land, cotton farming takes up 24% of the worlds sales of insecticides and pesticides.

    Questions:
    How many people are aware of the impacts of cotton to the environment?

    How much of the cotton produced can be recycled and does are the clothes made of recycled cotton actually good quality?

    From Abbey

    Reply
  • October 20, 2018 at 12:01 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Mrs Lockyer,

    I chose the inquiry line: Cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer. I have researched a lot over the week and I found out that cotton seeds are used in oil (cottonseed oil). I can’t believe that cotton was first grown in Pakistan 5000 years ago!

    I still have two questions about the process of cotton.
    1. Is it healthier to have cottonseed oil or vegetable oil?
    2. How did people 5000 years ago wear cotton clothes?

    From Sienna.

    Reply
  • October 20, 2018 at 2:32 pm
    Permalink

    Factors that affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.

    Interesting facts:
    1. Cotton makes up over a third of all fibre sold globally.
    2. In a normal year, the Australian cotton industry directly employs roughly employs 10,000 Australians and supports 4,000 businesses.

    Who is the world’s largest cotton producer and why? Weather factors? Engineering factors?

    Why is cotton so multi-purposeful?

    Reply
  • October 20, 2018 at 4:54 pm
    Permalink

    I found out…
    Oil is extracted from cottonseed and is used in margarine, cooking oil, soap, plastics, cosmetic products, candles and many other objects and products.
    Cotton in plant form, can absorb up to 27 times its own weight in water!

    My two questions are…
    I wonder how long one whole bale of cotton would take to make?

    I would like to know where cotton is best grown in the world? e.g- what farm, what country?

    Reply
  • October 20, 2018 at 7:29 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry:
    Factors affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.
    My facts:
    High use of pesticides poisons the air, water and soil harming plants and animals.
    Factory workers can be diagnosed with diseases, because of the extremely hazardous chemicals they use in the processing stages of cotton.
    My questions:
    Why do we have to use the chemicals, to grow cotton, is there no other type of liquids, that can achieve the same effects, while not harming factory workers, and the environment?
    Why do factory workers still work, if it can kill them, also why can’t people just create machines, to do the spraying to avoid harming workers?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 9:20 am
    Permalink

    Interesting facts about cotton

    Cotton has been used for so many years now
    from about 7 to 7.5 thousand years ago. When you are growing the cotton plants, there is no schedule that you need to water the plants, they can just be watered when they need to. I found it very interesting that all the clothes I have selected and done, they were only made out of cotton and polyester.
    2 questions
    1. How was the cotton turned into clothes, who invented it, and how?

    2. If all the clothes are made out of cotton or polyester, what does it feel like to have different fibered clothes? where would you find it?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 1:02 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Miss Lockyer,

    My inquiry line is 2 (Cotton production, use and reuse affects the environment.

    Something I found interesting is that 80% of Australian cotton farms are family businesses. I’m not sure why but maybe it is because cotton is an easy fibre to grow and is widely used. Something else I found interesting is that the only conditions needed to grow a cotton plant is healthy soil, just enough water and the sun.

    My first question is how long does it take to produce a cotton plant? My second question is can cotton be grown in any conditions of weather or time of year?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 3:09 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Miss Lockyer,
    My line of inquiry is the cycle of cotton from farmer to consumer and how it is made.
    But I have also found out some really interesting facts along the way.
    Australia only produces 5% of cotton around the globe but exports 90% of it’s cotton to other countries making it the 3rd largest country exporting amounts of cotton.
    My question is why do we export our small amounts of cotton that we should keep more to our self because we don’t produce that much?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 3:59 pm
    Permalink

    What i found interesting is that cotton is from a plant. I though it was from a sheep like wool, i also found it interesting that there is such thing as a cotton farmer.
    My questions are why do we use cotton in a lot of clothing instead of wool from a sheep?
    Why does it take so long to harvest cotton?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 4:50 pm
    Permalink

    My inquiry question is how does cotton go through a process from farm to consumer. My two interesting facts are that the average Australian cotton farm is family owned and operated. There are more than 1200 cotton farms in Australia with about 66% in NSW and 33% in Queensland. My two questions are how does cotton grow? and how does it transform from farm to a tee-shirt?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 6:48 pm
    Permalink

    hi Miss Lockyer this is my homework for this. week
    i learnt that cotton is
    cotton is pressed into large round modules or large rectangular, truck-sized blocks. i also learnt that cotton gins a factories that separate cotton seed and trash from the lint.

    what country is most known for growing cotton.
    why do they have to role the cotton into balls and cylinders

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 7:50 pm
    Permalink

    My inquire: 4. Factors affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.

    Interesting facts
    cotton was founded in 450 BC which is about 1,568 years ago and they were found in Peru.
    Every single bit of the cotton plant is used so there is no waste.
    Questions:
    How many different ways can you use cotton?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 7:51 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is point 2 Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment
    interesting things i have discovered: cotton uses a large amount of water in order for it to grow, so it has a significant negative impact on the environment, to counter this, cotton farmers in Australia use water from their own dams and bore water, which is ground water. questions: What makes cotton so soft? why do so many insects like eating cotton?

    Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 8:26 pm
    Permalink

    I found interesting that cotton uses so much water to grow and how people manage to decrease the amount of water used by using ground water and water from dams. questions: what makes cotton use so much water? why do so many insects like eating cotton

    Reply
    • October 21, 2018 at 8:28 pm
      Permalink

      I am sorry for posting twice, when i posted the first time it didn’t show up for me so i thought it didn’t go through so i did it again.

      Reply
  • October 21, 2018 at 9:43 pm
    Permalink

    Something interesting I found was that Cotton is a very pesticide intensive crop and that results in the chemicals killing most of the pests that grow in agricultural lands. Although this may seem great, the interference with the ecosystem make pests that were not so dangerous before become more of a threat to the environment.

    Cotton production also has a huge amount of water that was consumed in the making of it. Cotton uses 97% of the water in the Indus river goes towards cotton production which causes the environmental impact of cotton to become much larger.

    My two questions are:

    Why do certain countries (China) produce more cotton than countries like Australia, Mongolia, USA etc. when some countries have more agricultural lands and factories available to produce more cotton?
    Is cotton in any way environmentally friendly, and if so, how much more than other materials (polyester, wool etc.)?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 12:08 am
    Permalink

    Hello Mrs Lockyer,

    My line of inquiry is: We can take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production.

    I found out that although only 2.4% of the world’s crop is planted with cotton, it accounts for 24% of global insecticide and 11% of pesticide sales.
    I also discovered that a single cotton T-shirt uses up to 250ml of chemicals.

    Why are there so many pests attracted to cotton?
    If pesticide harms the soil, does it also harm the growth of cotton?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 7:48 am
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry was, Cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer. I found that in the process of cotton involves heaps of water. In fact the water footprint of 1 pound of cotton is 1, 320 gallons which is equal to 650 gallons of water for 1 new cotton T-Shirt. Another thing i found was that cotton looks like pom poms stuck on a stick. It kind of reminds me of fairy floss and the wool that you use in arts and craft. 2 questions are: Why does it use so much water? Why is it one of the most popular fabrics used in clothes and not in handbags or swim bathers.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 8:41 am
    Permalink

    I found out that once the cotton has gone threw the farm and then when it is at the cotton mill it is made into bales of cotton like hay. Also when they collect the cotton they have to clean it to get all the chemicals off that keep the bugs away.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 8:43 am
    Permalink

    I found the recipe very difficult to read.
    • A sentence with the word at the beginning
    Recipe instructions are easier to follow if the ingredients and method are listed separately.
    • A sentence containing a clause.
    As the clocked ticked on, he wished he had used his father’s recipe for the roast lamb.
    • A question

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 8:46 am
    Permalink

    Interesting facts that I found about cotton is that 75%of American paper money is made of cotton and the first light bulb used a cotton filament. Questions that I have. why are pest so attracted to cotton, and another question that I have is how long has Australia ben farming cotton for. My line of inquiry is
    Cotton goes through a process for a farm to customer.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 3:58 pm
    Permalink

    My inquiry was where cotton came from and how it grows.
    1. Cotton comes from a plant called cotton which is found in subtropical and tropical places like America, Africa, Egypt and India. They reproduce by when they are in a natural condition they drop there seeds allowing them to grow.
    2. The next topic is how it grows, this cycle is a very fascinating factor of life. First of is
    The seeds are planted in spring and cotton plants grow into green, bushy shrubs about a meter in height. The plants briefly grow pink and cream colored flowers that once pollinated, drop off and are replaced with “fruit”, better known as cotton bolls.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 5:11 pm
    Permalink

    interesting facts:
    Cotton is a natural fiber grown on a plant related to the hibiscus plant. Cotton was worn for clothes over 7,000 years ago.
    2 questions
    why was cotton so popular?
    how did they change cotton into clothing?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 5:53 pm
    Permalink

    I found out that cotton grows on a plant and is not artificial.This fiber also grows in tropical and subtropical regions.

    my question is why do they use cotton to make clothes instead of other materials?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 6:04 pm
    Permalink

    my line of inquiery : we can take action to reduce the negative affects on cotton production.

    i found that cotton comes from a plant called Gossypium and is grown in a protective case and has thousands of pesticides grown on it.
    questions: why is cotton so commonly used when making clothes and what countries use cotton.
    why does cotton come from plants and why does it grow so fluffy on the stem

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 6:35 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry;
    4. Factors affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.
    When I started looking into this line and what it actually means I realized just how many things actual impact on how, where and why cotton is produced.
    I have come to lean each different season of the year there is a particular process cotton farmers go through to achieve the best harvest.
    However, even though cotton farming overall is a disgrace to our environment there is another aspect that is just as despicable. Cotton farmers have disgusting conditions that have to live with. Some farmers don’t have proper education with pesticides leading them to severe illness, but also just sometimes how bad the cotton actually is for farmers with all the oil and also how prickly it is.
    What do we as consumers have to do to create a better cotton industry concerning the environment but also the economy?
    Will retailers understand what they are doing to our environment and try to start and initiative to create a better industry.

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 7:21 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is, cotton goes through a process from farm to consumer.

    I found that cotton grows around the seeds of a cotton plant.
    Australia is one of the world’s largest cotton exporters.

    What plant does cotton grow on?
    Where in the world is the largest producer of cotton?

    Reply
  • October 22, 2018 at 8:23 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is we can take action to reduce the negative effects of cotton production. The two things I found interesting is that the government in Uzbekistan closes down schools during the year and then sends those children to pick up cotton. Another thing I found interesting is that it takes 2,700 liters of water to make a new cotton t-shirt. My first question is if we know cotton can cause so many problems why do we cotton so often? according to the world health organization, there are up to 20,000 deaths each due to toxic chemicals in the cotton. As they don’t have the right equipment so why does the government pay for proper equipment to prevent unnecessary deaths?

    Reply
  • October 23, 2018 at 8:41 am
    Permalink

    Hi Mrs. Lockyer,

    My line of inquiry is how cotton goes through a process from farmer to consumer.

    I found that cotton farming uses 25% of the world’s insecticides! Also,
    Cotton relies on having a steady climate for growth. Cotton also uses 780 LITRES OF WATER per square meter!
    But I am not sure how much money farmers make on cotton. Is it weighed on a scale to find the quantity? Is there a unit of measurement for cotton?

    Reply
  • October 23, 2018 at 8:49 am
    Permalink

    Cotton
    Inquiry question number 4
    Cotton is grown all over the world and cotton growth farms are also in Australia (Queens Land and New South Wales)
    Cotton is grown because the citizens need something to ware. Cotton is comfortable and the fiber breaths making you cool when you are hot and hot when you are cold.

    In order to make cotton useful the cotton plant needs to be processed and that makes the cotton plant separate from the cotton seed. This makes the cotton on the plant come of.

    Cotton has a lot of pests and the cotton farmers have to spray pest control. The pest control makes the pests go away or die. The control is dangerous and that can kill you.

    Reply
  • October 23, 2018 at 2:26 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is “Cotton goes from farm to consumer.”
    I have learned
    1. Cotton actually doesn’t go straight from the farm and then to the consumer. It grows in a field, then when it is harvested they make it into “modules”, tall, long rectangles of cotton that fit in the back of a tractor. Then the cotton lint is taken from the seed, and then the lint is cleaned. Fibres are removed from the seeds. Once it has all been cleaned, it enters a condenser, which changes the lint into 50-pound bales of cotton.
    2. Cotton can be used in many different ways, such as t-shirts, socks, underwear, dresses, wipes, quilting, sewing, reusable nappies, bed sheets, yarn for knitting or crocheting, feeding cows (that’s right! The seeds are fed to cows.) and much, much more!
    Even though I know all of this, I still have a few questions. I’ll show you two of them.
    1. What are some negative impacts that cotton production has on the environment? I have heard of it being negative, but I would like to know why.
    2. Can cotton be used to make pants? In the websites I read, there wasn’t any mentions of pants being made of cotton. But can they?
    Now, I have used a few resources to help me learn the things that I shared with you above, and I used a couple of websites. Here are their links:
    1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
    2. https://www.barnhardtcotton.net/blog/the-story-of-cotton-how-cotton-is-grown-processed-and-used/
    Thank you for reading my comment! I hope that you have a look at these websites and see how interesting they are!

    Reply
  • October 23, 2018 at 4:13 pm
    Permalink

    question: Cotton production, use and re-use affects the environment.
    i found that cotton cannot really be turned into its original form.
    i also found that cotton is one of the most durable fabrics for clothing so, it is pretty re – usable for 2nd hand or making more clothing out of ripped apart clothes.
    questions: if it could go back to its first state, would it make 2nd hand clothing better.
    if cotton didn`t use so much water would that make re-use better too.

    Reply
  • October 23, 2018 at 7:26 pm
    Permalink

    My inquiry is: Factors affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.

    I found out cotton is made into blocks before being processed and that Australia only makes up 5% of the worlds cotton income.

    If the temperature of which some cotton grows in were to change how would this impact the cotton growth? Would it make the cotton grow faster/slower? If so how would this effect the end material?

    Reply
  • October 24, 2018 at 7:29 pm
    Permalink

    Can we take action for the negative
    effects of cotton production!

    1. We have many bugs that like to eat our home grown cotton but there are 8 main bugs e.g. cabbage looper and corn earworm.

    2. Cotton uses an astounding 7.8 mega liters of water per batch, this is using a lot of our Aussi water, so I have come up with way to solve this.
    Questions I still have:
    Who discovered cotton and how?
    Why can’t we grow cotton in a massive shed? Won’t it cut down the water usage.

    Reply
  • October 26, 2018 at 6:34 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Mrs Lockyer,

    My line of inquiry was, we can reduce the negative effects on cotton production.
    I find it interesting that cotton needs a lot of water, but farmers (to save water) only water cotton plants when they really need it. Also I find it interesting that cotton farmers use more pesticides than normal agricultural farms.
    I wonder if there are cotton farms in WA. Also, why do farmers water there cotton with irrigation if they can use rain water.

    -Bella 6W

    Reply
  • October 27, 2018 at 5:23 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is number 4 which is:
    Factors affect where, how and why cotton is grown, processed and sold.
    My two facts:
    That to help remove resistant pets they actually need to grow cotton made to be host to non-resistant pets. That there are multiple types of cotton that have been genetically modified to be resistant to pests although some are coming resistant.
    My two questions:
    What are the factors for cottons growth.
    Why do other types of natural fibers seem to have less pets?

    Reply
  • October 28, 2018 at 1:40 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is 2. cotton production use and re-use affect the environment
    two things i’ve found interesting is that cotton requires thousands of litres of water to produce, and has a high use of pesticides.
    2 questions are why is cotton so water absorbent and why is cotton so common if it requires so much water.

    Reply
  • October 28, 2018 at 1:41 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is 2. cotton production use and re-use affect the environment.
    two things i’ve found interesting is that cotton requires thousands of litres of water to produce, and has a high use of pesticides.
    2 questions are why is cotton so water absorbent and why is cotton so common if it requires so much water.

    Reply
  • October 28, 2018 at 9:25 pm
    Permalink

    My line of inquiry is cotton goes through a process rom farm consumer.
    What I found interesting was that cotton was made on plants and that Australia only producers 5% of the worlds cotton.
    Questions
    1. In the old days how did they turn cotton into cloths because they don’t have the machines like we have today.
    2. I wonder how long it takes to make cloths.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Samuel Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to toolbar