Name: Eric

Message: Are white cotton socks dyed or are they naturally white?

Cotton bolls look white on the cotton plant, but when the fiber is cleaned, spun, and woven or knitted, you can see that the natural color is more of a beige, or even a light brown. 

White cotton fiber that you buy has invariably been bleached to make it white. Because it is such a problem for the environment and therefore expensive to use, hydrogen peroxide is preferred, in the textile industry, to the chlorine bleach (hypochlorite) you normally think of when you hear the word "bleach".

Florescent brighteners are also used to make white textile fibers appear whiter. They work by absorbing ultraviolet light, which is invisible to our eyes, and then emitting it as visible blue light. These brighteners are used in the textile industry, and they are also added to most laundry detergents to keep your clothes looking as bright as possible.

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