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Abstract
Cotton quality is a fundamental element in price determination because quality
heterogeneity is so prevalent in cotton and combinations of quality attributes have a
known effect on its value in manufacturing textile products (Ethridge, Hudson, and
Misra, 2005). The fiber is most often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable
textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today (Merriam and
Webster, 2006). Cotton fiber is made up of different attributes whose values together
determine its use value and market value. Official grading standards recognize eight
attributes - fiber length, fiber length uniformity, fiber strength, micronaire, color, trash,
preparation, and extraneous material (USDA, 1993).