Mattress Forum

basically the remainder of the cotton would most likely be american upland long staple as 90% of the worlds crop is this variety. 

"In the world marketplace, many cheap cottons are also being referred to as "Egyptian Cotton". If an Egyptian Cotton article seems to be a very low price, it is probably not genuine. There are three things to be aware of when you are purchasing Egyptian cotton linens. First of all, there are the contents - Some fabrics are labeled as Egyptian cotton when in fact they have a tiny percentage of genuine Egyptian cotton ~ say 5% or so. Second of all, the definition of "Egyptian Cotton" in some dictionaries is simply any finely woven cotton ~ this does rather leave the door open. Lastly, cotton grown in the country of Egypt may sound expensive and high in quality, but can be any variety. Since American Upland cottons (which are a much shorter fiber) now comprise 90% of the world's crop, it is a safe assertion that this might be in the package

Referring to the image on the right, the ivory colored sheet on the right sells for about four times as much money as the copper colored one on the left. They are both 300 Thread Count fabrics, both feel very nice and soft to the touch, and they are both labeled as being Egyptian cotton. You cannot normally see the difference, so the customer is left wondering why they should pay the higher price.

If you compare these same fabrics magnified many times, you can now see the difference. There is an enormous difference in the quality of these two fabrics. The genuine Egyptian cotton has a very smooth surface, with only an occasional tiny fiber raised from the surface. The copper colored fabric has many fiber ends standing up. It is obviously made from an inexpensive, short staple cotton, because of this "furring".

Both 300 thread count fabrics: One made with genuine Egyptian cotton (right), and the other made with cheap, short staple cotton (left).

The long fibers in Egyptian cotton have a lot more surface and length to "grab" each other, with a lot fewer ends to lift out of the thread. This makes the thread much stronger, and the resulting fabric much smoother and more resistant to pilling.

The long fiber of the Egyptian cotton means that there are very few breaks between the fibers when twisted into a thread. However the short fibers of cheap cotton mean that there are many breaks. There are a lot more fiber ends and these show up on the surface.

The short fibers in cheap cottons mean the thread will be much weaker, with a lot more ends to lift out of the thread. The resulting fabric will wear out much faster, and be far more likely to pill.

There are many other factors that will affect the quality of the fabric. These factors include: the way the thread is spun, the way it is woven, and the way it is dyes and finished. There are many technical variances. There are good methods, and there are cheap methods. "

I really think for the genuine article it is best to watch for a special deal on a brand that only makes the real deal....like Sferra, St. Geneve, Schlossberg.  Once in a while they will have a fabric they need to clear out and will reduce the price dramatically.  Even after discount it may not still be called cheap but it certainly would be a lot easier to justify the price difference.

Thank you.