Reddit - Ask me Anything (AMA)
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Very cool read… .
I always assumed IH used Supima for the US long staple cotton in the jeans. But then I read this: “OK I heard from Haraki. Fairly adamant reply:
"We don't use PIMA in our denim and I won't use it."”I have this burning question about the cotton now. I should start by saying that I’m somewhat obsessed with cotton and am really impressed with the cotton used in my IH jeans and sweatshirt and my cotton obsessions are urging me to find out what variety of cotton IH uses. However, there are a few points about IH cotton that make it wonderfully unique and hard to identify:
- It’s not the GE (BT toxin producing or herbicide tolerant) variety…
(which rules out about 90%+ of US cotton…) - It’s not US Pima AKA Supima (which rules out about 3%)
So that leaves about 6-7% which it could be, but it’s long staple cotton (which is rare outside of Supima cotton in the US and rules out all Upland cotton and most of the other 6-7% left over) so it must be some super rare cotton variety that’s not even on the radar of commercial cotton growers…
Which all leads to the question: What kind is it? Is it a secret? Is it some rare heirloom or breed of cotton that other companies don’t find cost effective, but IH uses for its extreme durability/softness? A US Zimbabwean cotton equivalent that’s better than Supima?
Vary fascinated to hear… certainly no rush though. - It’s not the GE (BT toxin producing or herbicide tolerant) variety…
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Haraki & and Ono-san sit down and work out what Haraki needs out of the finished fabric. There are certain things Haraki just does care about (though Pima is obviously something he is not keen on). Does X do the job? Yes. Good.
I can also tell when he feels a question is unnecessary and he is irritated. This is one of them.
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so G$, who ghost wrote those responses on the AMA? you came off to me very knowledgable, funny, passionate & straight forward . . . . so I know Winchy or Paula had to be taking care of it while you were fishing or getting a pedicure
great job & way to be proactive in reaching a wider audience through the world wide webs
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Kudos Giles. I really enjoyed reading the AMA thread. Learned lots of interesting stuff and you came across really well. Down to earth, honest and more than anything passionate. You are where you are because you and the team made it happen. Imagine if Haraki san had not replied to that email! Then again there's a divinity that shapes our ends as The Bard himself would put it.
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Haraki & and Ono-san sit down and work out what Haraki needs out of the finished fabric. There are certain things Haraki just does care about (though Pima is obviously something he is not keen on). Does X do the job? Yes. Good.
I can also tell when he feels a question is unnecessary and he is irritated. This is one of them.
Maybe it’s for the best than… There is something about this mystery that is best enjoyed mysterious. What I have learned though is that IH long staple cotton is approximately equivalent to Zimbabwean (another super rare variety virtually unknown to commercial cotton growers), but is US grown and is not US Pima. If I were to hear the name of the cotton chances are it would be incoherent anyway. It’s just cool to know that the cotton is super quality US cotton, but not Supima (better than Supima I assume). This would lead me to believe that the cotton is super rare, superior even to superior Pima (AKA Supima), and virtually iron heart exclusive. This fact is most interesting and makes me even more fascinated and excited about iron heart clothing.
Edit: Comparison between Levis cotton and Iron Heart cotton. Hint: Iron Heart cotton is longer, fluffier, and generally looks more appealing.
