What is the difference between cotton and viscose?

Cotton fibers come from plants and there are many varieties of seeds used to grow it. The type of cotton seed used is primarily determined by the conditions in the area where it is planted (wet, dry, short or long growing season, etc.). read more

Although both cotton and viscose primarily contains cellulose, there is a considerable difference between viscose and cotton. Cellulose in cotton is grown during five to six months time whereas cellulose from trees, which are used to manufacture viscose, takes years to grow. read more

Both are cellulose based, cotton is a natural fibre and Viscose is considered to be man made as it is is made by dissolving wood pulp in strongly alkaline chemicals and then reconsituting it as a fibre. Processing wise for garments etc they are treated in very similar ways. With the same classes of dyes etc. read more

As nouns the difference between cotton and viscose is that cotton is a plant that encases its seed in a thin fiber that is harvested and used as a fabric or cloth while viscose is a viscous orange-brown liquid obtained by chemical treatment of cellulose and used as the basis of manufacturing rayon and cellulose film. read more

Growth and processing is another key difference: cotton is grown right here in the USA across the southern tier states, from Virginia all the way to California. There are no—literally, not one—producers of viscose rayon in North America. read more