SOL means the sun in Spanish, and PIMA stands for pima cotton.
In ancient Mexico, people worshipped the sun. To signify the cotton grown in the glorious sunshine,
the Mexican pima cotton with extra-long fiber was named SOLPIMA.
Studies suggest that a record of Aztecs in Mexico about cultivating cotton to produce fiber in about eight thousand years ago is the oldest record of cotton farming in the world. SOLPIMA is the descendent of this ancient cotton-growing heritage.
The grade of the raw cotton is affected not only by the types of cotton but also by the operation process.
Cotton is harvested either by hand or by machine. While hand-picking method may treat fibers more carefully, impurity like broken husks and dust tend to get mixed in with the cotton. Machine-picked cotton contains less impurity, and the latest machines seldom damage fiber. Furthermore, manpowered cotton picking is very laborious, requiring workers to remain squatted hour after hour. SOLPIMA farms introduce the latest machines to reduce the workload, improve efficiency and ensure the payment of fair wages.
SOLPIMA has extra-long fibers measured at 35mm or longer with the strength at GPT38 or more. While Mexican cottons are generally used for normal yarn, SOLPIMA uses Gossypium barbadense, a typical extra-long staple (fiber) cotton used to produce Supima cotton, in its effort to create an oriignal Mexican extra-long fiber cotton brand.
GPT: The index represents the fiber strength, with a higher figure signifying a stronger fiber.
Gin is a manufacturing process in which harvested cotton is separated from the cottonseeds. SOLPIMA uses roller gins, which use two rollers to remove seeds in a delicate manner. The slow rotation prevents cotton fibers from being damaged in the process. While the slow pace results in a longer processing time and higher cost, we make no compromise with our priority, which is to keep the natural goodness of cotton intact.
Cotton nurtured in the great nature of Mexico, characterized by the rich soil and water and the perennial sunshine, has more voluminous and thicker fiber than cottons grown in other places. Fabrics made of Mexican cotton boast firmness and elasticity ideal for tailoring stylish clothes.
〈Yarn〉 Officer: Hane
t.hane@shinatomo.co.jp
〈Textile〉 Officer: Ohno
tx1-6@shinatomo.co.jp
〈Garment〉 Officer: Tagawa
s.tagawa@shinatomo.co.jp