Sea Island Cotton

When you hear about Sea Island (named for an island off the Georgia coast) or Egyptian cotton you should know that this is not referring to the type of weave, but to the type of cotton used to make the weave. For practical purposes, Pima, Sea Island and Egyptian cotton all refer to the same cotton plant: Gossypium Barbadense. This is a more desirable cotton for its “longer staples” which allow it to be weaved into finer, stronger threads. Making matters a bit more confusing, there are trademarks around the names "Sea Island" and "Supima", so you can keep an eye out for "certified sea island cotton" vs. "sea island quality". Sea Island is the domestic version of Egyptian cotton.