# Why is Peruvian Cotton Considered the Best?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-peruvian-cotton-considered-the-best/497969>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 28, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-peruvian-cotton-considered-the-best/497969 "2009-05-28T20:54:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-peruvian-cotton-considered-the-best/497969/1 "2009-05-28T20:54:38Z")

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My wife gave me a polo shirt-the brand is the one that has a little alligator on the front. I saw from the label that it is 100% cotton (peruvian cotton). Why is Peru-grown cotton considered the nst? I thought Georgia (Sea Island) or Egyptian cottons were the premium types.  
in any event, the shirt is of high quality-the fabric is soft and comfortable.  
But is this cotton any better than the two varieties I mentioned?

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**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-peruvian-cotton-considered-the-best/497969/2 "2009-05-28T22:06:45Z")

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It’s a marketing gimmick.

All those types of cotton are basically the same, but you can point to an attribute, such as it origin, and just pass it off as a feature by calling special attention to it. Most consumers will, as you sort of did, assume that if attention is being called to it, it must be something special.

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-peruvian-cotton-considered-the-best/497969/3 "2009-05-28T22:13:18Z")

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I never heard of Peruvian cotton being the best but had heard that Egyptian or Sea Island cotton were the best because they were “long staple”, meaning, as I understand, that the fibers are long. But according to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Island_Cotton), Sea Island or Egyptian cotton originated in Peru as Pima cotton. So that’s probably the origin of the idea.

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**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-peruvian-cotton-considered-the-best/497969/4 "2009-05-28T22:43:39Z")

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I think perhaps the Peruvian cotton is [Tanguis cotton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton#Tang.C3.BCis_cotton), which has a longer staple length than Pima, leading it to feel silkier (and shed/pill less, in textiles where that’s an issue).