Location: Cotton Quality and Innovation Research
Project Number: 6054-30600-002-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Jul 3, 2025
End Date: Jul 2, 2030
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop new cotton-based textiles for hygienic and wound healing applications.
Objective 2: Create cotton-based (barrier protective) nanofiber materials through innovative technologies.
Objective 3: Develop value-added commercial products from cotton-based materials.
Approach:
The U.S. cotton textile industry continues to face high surplus and lowering demand, which is an obvious concern for cotton farmers. Cotton’s use in domestic manufactured products has traditionally provided a major underpinning to domestic cotton consumption but has declined due to the loss of market share to foreign competition and especially to petroleum-based synthetics. Thus, the goal of this proposed research is to give U.S. cotton utilization a competitive edge. Research and development emphasis will be placed on cotton fiber science and new product discovery areas where consumer and industrial needs are unmet and value the use of domestically grown cotton. The Cotton Quality and Innovation Research Unit (CQI) will approach this problem by identifying, modifying and developing valuable functionality in cotton that will target markets where the value of domestic cotton products is assessable and shows greatest promise for high value and volume consumption. Investigator and tech transfer goals will focus on components of the whole cotton fiber as may be applied to develop functional nonwoven or woven fabrics, films, solid composites and medical devices. The development of value-added functionality will have particular focus on 1) Skin-contacting fabrics with wound healing and antimicrobial; 2) Nanomaterials that enhance agricultural crop protection, and 3) Material strength and high specific surface area performance value. Thus, the goal is to increase cotton’s commercial value through developing useful products and consequently providing a significant economic boost to the domestic cotton industry. This endeavor will be strengthened by stakeholder networks that enable applications using U.S. grown cotton.