Regular cotton vs Ring-Spun & Combed cotton
REGULAR COTTON VS RING SPUN & COMBED
It is often not seen and slips by unnoticed but that extra tag stating that it is ring-spun or combed cotton makes a big difference when compared to regular cotton. Both ring-spun and combed cotton are said to be softer and feel nicer, but why?
How Are They Made?
Regular Cotton
Regular cotton is made by taking the soft vegetable fibres and twisting them together to make yarn, the yarn is then woven together to make the material. Most of the industry standard T-Shirts made by major cotton mills provide only regular cotton T-shirts. Regular cotton is available fairly cheaply make which also means it is very popular among manufactures of Fast Fashion.
Ring-spun cotton
Ring-Spun Cotton is made by twisting and thinning the cotton strands to make them incredibly fine, soft ropes of cotton fibres. Ring-Spun cotton T-Shirts are more durable and last longer than their regular counterparts.
Combed Cotton
Combed cotton goes through some extra processes before the yarn is made. The combed cotton is unsurprisingly “combed” which means it brings all the fibres parallel to each other and this in turn removes all the shorter fibres. By removing these short fibres the combed cotton is created with only the longest finest remaining fibres which gives the combed cotton it’s lovely feel and high sheen. Also because the fibres are longer they are stronger and less likely to break leading to a longer life of the product. If the cotton is organic then the fibres are longer (due to them being picked by hand rather than machine) and this again leads to an increase in the quality and life span of the clothing.
Which Is For Me?
If you are curious to tell the difference you can pick them up – the ring-spun cotton will feel a little heavier to the touch than the regular cotton (even though it isn`t), and the combed will have a beautiful sheen across the fabric due to its long fibres.
So… which is better? We believe that if you are environmentally conscious and intend to keep the T-Shirt for as long as possible then we’d highly recommend the combed cotton. The ring-spun and combed will also feel more comfortable and last longer providing longevity of the product that will out last regular cotton clothing.
At Charmio we only use organic ring-spun and organic combed cotton in our products to ensure the highest quality we can. We don’t over price them as many do as we believe high quality garments should be affordable and shouldn’t cost the earth.
