MaterialsMaterials

MaterialsMaterials

Our special attention to
raw materials

To continue to produce high quality cotton.
We are committed to using the world's rarest and highest
quality raw materials, while at the same time taking
into consideration the environment in which the cotton
is produced and the people who work on the farms.

原料

Sea Island Cotton

The Pinnacle of Cotton
With a History

Known as the highest grade of cotton, Sea Island Cotton is characterized by its long, thin, and strong fibers. When it is made into yarn, the fibers are drawn together and twisted, but its superior characteristic makes it fluffy and soft. Its gentle feel was loved by the British royal family, and it has a history of not being allowed to be taken out of the country for 200 years.

This cotton grows only in limited areas with special climatic conditions and soil. The total harvest is a mere few dozen tons per year, which is about 0.00001% (1/100,000) of the total cotton harvest, making it a very rare and precious commodity.

Sea Island Cotton is grown under contract with local farmers, and we have established traceability by knowing who is making the cotton, how much they produce, and their working conditions.

  • West indian
    sea island cotton

    West indian sea island cotton

    Sea Island Cotton is said to have its roots in the Bahamas, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. The cotton is still cultivated in the Caribbean, and we use Sea Island Cotton from Jamaica. The West Indian Sea Island Cotton grown here is characterized by the cotton balls popping from the bottom of the tree to the top sequentially and in varied timing. Because the quality of cotton deteriorates when wet from rain or other water, it must be harvested as soon as the balls pop. Therefore, the cotton is harvested by hand, one by one, over a period of many months, taking great care to damage the fibers as little as possible.
    This labor-intensive cotton cultivation not only provides high quality, but also brings new employment to the local community. In recent years, the company has expanded the scale of its operations and aims to make cotton a national specialty product.
    KONDOBO is the only spinning mill in Japan authorized to handle Sea Island Cotton. We take pride in our technical capabilities and to spin premium yarn.

    West indian sea island cotton

  • American
    sea island cotton

    American sea island cotton

    The name Sea Island Cotton comes from the Sea Island region of South Carolina in the United States. Though flourishing there after being brought from the Bahamas, the cultivation of Sea Island Cotton was destroyed by insect pests in the early 20th century. A century later, after much research with a local university on seeds, it made a miraculous comeback. This is American Sea Island Cotton.
    It is grown in Mexico’s El Paso, a highland area with 3,700 hours of sunshine per year and a large temperature difference between day and night. When it is time to harvest, frost occurs and the cotton balls pop at once, allowing machines to harvest the cotton resulting in higher productivity than in the West Indies.
    This cotton is only available in Japan, and the American Sea Island yarn ASIC spun by KONDOBO is the only premium yarn of its kind in the world.

    American sea island cotton

PIMA

Cotton Representing
Extra-long Staple Cotton

Pima Cotton is a variety developed to obtain high quality product that competes with Egyptian cotton. Through repeated breeding of Egyptian and American cotton, a cotton with longer and stronger fibers was created. It was named PIMA in honor of the Pima Indian tribe that first harvested it on the test farm.

Today, PIMA cotton is one of the representative extra-long staple cottons grown in major cotton growing regions around the world, but we only use carefully selected PIMA cotton that has particularly long fibers, a limited range of fineness, and a certain level of strength, all of which meet our strict standards and guarantee high quality.

The quality of the cotton is strictly controlled and assured on a special farm in San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States. Biotechnology reduces the use of insecticides by about 50%, and drip irrigation methods minimize the use of precious water resources. Modern agriculture makes this cotton a good choice for both people and the environment.