Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2015
Cotton's position as the leading raw input supplier of the American textile industry is in grave danger. Recent years have seen various synthetic and man-made fibers make serious inroads into cotton's markets. In 1955, cotton enjoyed about 65 percent of the total domestic fiber market. By 1960, with the introduction of relatively high priced substitutes such as nylon, cotton still commanded close to 65 percent of this market. Today, after the introduction of improved nylon, the polyesters, and the high-modulus rayons at more competitive prices, cotton comprises only about 50 percent of the textile market.