West Indian Sea Island: The World’s Rarest Cotton

Posted 18.07.17  - Craft

Our West Indian Sea Island cotton shirts are made from a precious raw material, exclusively picked by local farmers in Barbados.


The cotton is carefully selected and woven by the Albini factory. Extremely scarce, it makes up just 0.0004% of longer staple yarn production, and out of the 110 million cotton bales produced each year, only 130 of those are West Indian Sea Island.



 The cotton has an unrivalled softness and a silky yet strong surface, resisting wear while smoothing over time.



In this short film, former head of design Dean Gomilsek-Cole explains why West Indian Sea Island cotton is considered the best in the world, with a rare glimpse inside the Albini factory.




West Indian Sea Island Cotton from Turnbull & Asser on Vimeo.



Ruby Burns - T&A Editorial Team

Other Articles You May Enjoy

  • 27.08.25

    Behind the Seams: Crafting the Turnbull Shirt

    In the realm of fine shirtmaking, there is the ordinary, and then there is Turnbul...

    Read more
  • 29.07.25

    Behind the Seams: Crafting the Turnbull Tie

    In a quiet corner of Gloucester, amidst the soft hum of sewing machines and the gentle...

    Read more
  • 26.06.25

    Icons of Turnbull: Leading Men in Film

    As we begin the countdown to Turnbull & Asser’s 140th anniversary, we’re excited to...

    Read more