LAB REPORT; HOW COTTON INC.'S SECRET WEAPON -- ITS CARY, N.C., RESEARCH TEAM -- TRANSLATES SCIENCE INTO BETTER SALES OF COTTON.(Clothing Care Research Center)(Textile Chemistry Research)

Daily News Record, May, 2005 by Lloyd, Brenda

Byline: Brenda Lloyd

CARY, N.C. -- Got a problem with something -- anything -- made of cotton?

Take it to the folks here at the Cotton Incorporated labs near Raleigh, N.C. This is where -- beyond the Roman rotunda that's the entrance to this five-year-old, academic-looking brick building -- researchers tackle problems ranging from fiber processing to garment making. This is also where they brainstorm ways to make cotton products more appealing to consumers around the globe. It's where the mistakes are made and the kinks worked out.

Probably the biggest area of research is the development of cotton fabrics with "technical properties" -- the big buzzwords in the apparel industry today -- that include soil and stain repellency, moisture...