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Sally Fox is an American inventor. In the late 1980s, she invented Foxfibre cotton, the first commercially spinnable colored cotton. Prior to her invention, naturally colored cotton could only be spun by hand due to their short fibers.

Background

Sally Fox grew up in the bay area of San Francisco. From a young age she became interested in the creation of textiles. She saved money from her baby-sitting job to buy her first spindle. It was a drop-spindle purchased from a renaissance fair that she would use to spin anything she could get her hands on, from pet hair to cotton balls. For her 13th birthday she was gifted a floor-model spinning wheel. Fox's interest continued to grow, along with her interest in pesticides. After reading Rachel Carson's book “Silent Spring”, an exposé on the damaging effects of pesticides, and living in the time of the Vietnam war, the war in which agent orange was introduced, Fox decided to dedicate her life to reducing the use of pesticides and other chemicals. Sally Fox went on to receive her B.S. in biology from California Polytechnic State University in 1979, and her M.S. entomology, the study of insects with a specialty in integrated pest management, from the University of California in 1981.

FoxFibre

In the year 1982, Fox was working as a cotton breeder. She hoped to produce as plant that pest resistant. Going off the knowledge that colored cotton is more pest resistant than white cotton, it was at this time that she began the process of creating her colored Foxfibre cotton. She began by growing green and brown cotton and picking out the seeds of the plants that had the longest fibers. She replanted these seeds year after year. Fox began growing her plants in her mother's backyard in 1982 and by 1985 she had purchased a small plot of land to grow her plants.

The overall process of creating the new naturally colored cotton with long fibers takes about ten years according to Fox. It took approximately eight years to produce plants that not only had the desired color, but were also all the same height allowing for them to be farmable. She obtained four Plant Variety Protection Certificates, the plant equivalent of a patent. Her Foxfibre cotton plants come in 6 shades that are a variety of browns and greens. Her cotton growing success turned into a $10 million company, producing cotton for companies such as Levi's and L.L.Bean.

References

1. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹{{Cite book|title=Inventing modern America : from the microwave to the mouse|last=1969-|first=Brown, David E.|date=2002|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0262025089|location=Cambridge, Mass.|oclc=47916189}}
2. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹{{Cite book|title=Eco-pioneers : practical visionaries solving today's environmental problems|last=Steve.|first=Lerner|date=1997|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0262122078|location=Cambridge, Mass.|oclc=44962140}}
3. ^¹²{{Cite book|title=FutureFashion white papers|date=2007|publisher=Earth Pledge|others=Hoffman, Leslie., Earth Pledge (Organization)|isbn=9780967509921|edition= 1st|location=New York, N.Y.|oclc=179824450}}
4. ^{{Cite web|url=http://sallyfox.wikispaces.com/|title=sallyfox - home|website=sallyfox.wikispaces.com|access-date=2018-04-19}}
5. ^¹²{{Cite web|url=http://invention.si.edu/innovative-lives-sally-fox-colorful-cottons|title=Innovative Lives: Sally Fox, Colorful Cottons {{!}} Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation|website=invention.si.edu|language=en|access-date=2018-04-19|date=2005-03-05}}
6. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.women-inventors.com/Sally-Fox.asp|title=Sally Fox: Inventor of Foxfibre Colored Cotton|website=www.women-inventors.com|access-date=2018-04-19}}

External links

NOTE: This is the draft from (Draft:Sally Fox) moved here to be integrated into this article

Early Life and Education

Fox was the sixth of seven children, born in 1959 in Woodside, California to two real estate agents. At the age of seven, her family moved to Menlo Park.^[1]

Fox first became interested in cotton fibers at the age of 12. After purchasing her first spindle with babysitting money, she created various threads of cotton from household objects such as linen.^[1] ^[2]

In high school, an entomology teacher and then Stanford Ph.D. student, Elizabeth Wangari, inspired Fox to take an interest in insects. Wangari helped Fox secure an internship at Zoecon Corporation in Palo-Alto. ^[3] Fox went on to major in biology and entomology at California State Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo. ^[2]

After graduation, Fox joined the Peace Corps and travelled to The Gambia, West Africa in order to learn about the environmental factors harming local rice and peanut crops. ^[1] It was here that Fox was first exposed, both socially and physically, to the dangers of pesticides such as DDT. Fox taught safety classes regarding the usage of pesticides but was forced to return home after becoming very sick (due to exposure). ^[1] After her stint in the Peace Corps, Fox furthered her education by earning a master's degree in integrated pest management from the University of California at Riverside.

Inspiration to Grow Colored Cotton

In the early 1980s, Fox began looking for a job. However, the economic downfall of the farming industry during this time period created a sparse job market. Fox first found work as a pollinator for a cotton breeder in California. ^[1] During this job, Fox discovered a bag of seeds that produced brown, pest-resistant cotton. After a suggestion from her employer, Fox spun out the cotton and left her job so as to plant her first fields of naturally colored cotton. ^[1]^[3]

Natural Cotton Colors Inc.

Fox is perhaps best known the founder and owner of her company Natural Cotton Colors Inc. Fox's big breakthrough occurred in 1988 at Texas Tech University when she successfully produced her first species of naturally colored cotton that could be spun on a machine. After a first sale with a Japanese textile mill, Fox quit her job at Sandoz Crop Protection and founded Natural Cotton Colors Inc., setting up base in Wasco, California. ^[2]

Fox's next major sale occurred in 1989, when she sold 122 bushels of cotton to a different Japanese mill for $279,000. Due to this success, Fox obtained Plant Variety Protection Certificates (the equivalent of a patents for plants) and trademarked her cotton brand: FoxFibre. Not long after, L.L. Bean and Land's End put in large orders for FoxFibre. Fox's business, Natural Cotton Colours, soon became a company/business worth $10 million. ^[1]

However, Sally Fox and FoxFibre faced many obstacles in order to produce their cotton. Fox's species of colored cotton were misunderstood by Southern California cotton growers, who feared the crop would contaminate their own produce. These growers pushed for enforcement of early 20th-century legislation that placed strict laws on Fox's growing process and her fields. In 1993, she relocated to Arizona. But in 1999, Arizona cotton growers pushed for similar strict laws on Fox's fields, causing Fox to relocate once again, this time to Northern California. The company faced further barriers when, between 1990 and 1995, a majority of the spinning mills in Europe, Japan and the United States closed down, possibly in efforts to promote globalization and industrialization. ^[1]

FoxFibre

FoxFibre is the patented name of Fox's various breeds of naturally colored, organically grown cotton. Different colors available for textile industries, including Redwood, Coyote, New Green, and Buffalo. ^[1] ^[2]

Fox herself weeded, maintained, and grew cotton, each year harvesting and breeding only the best in color and in fiber. Fox even crossbred her brown cotton with traditional white cotton so as to produce crops with longer, stronger fibers for threading. Each color of cotton takes approximately ten years of cress-breeding before it can be sold on the market. ^[1] Her work mirrors, and pushed for more innovation in, the scientific field of genetic engineering.

Legacy

While Fox was not the first person to invent nor harvest naturally colored cotton, she was the first to invent a species of naturally colored cotton that could be spun into thread via machine. Naturally colored cotton has short, weak fibers that traditionally required hours upon hours of expensive hand threading. ^[2] White cotton has stronger, longer fibers that are able to be threaded by a machine. However, the bleaching process of the white cotton is not environmentally friendly, creating large amounts of pollution as a byproduct. ^[3] Fox's cotton was a gateway for the textile industry to see how good quality clothes could be made while prioritizing the health of the environment. ^[1] Furthermore, Fox grows all her cotton without pesticides or chemical pesticides, further promoting and encouraging farmers and textile industries to grow environmentally friendly products. ^[2]

Fox's cotton also becomes more vivid and darker in color after each wash cycle, promoting a species of cotton that is organic and retains its color.

Awards

NOTE: Version from Draft:Sally Fox, Inventor

^[4]Sally Fox (born December 30, 1955) was raised in Palo Alto, California. Fox changed the textile industry when she invented naturally colored cotton, Foxfibre cotton, that can only be spun by hand.

Early life

When growing up in San Francisco, Fox alway's had an interest in spinning and weaving fabrics but her fondness grew after her mother took her to various fabric stores at the age of 12 years old. With her interest piqued, Fox chose to grow her own cotton in her mother's backyard as a hobby.

Education

Fox attended graduate school at the University of California in order to learn various methods of safer pest control. She later on successfully received her master's degree towards Integrated Pest Management. She was a strong advocate towards keeping a healthy, sustainable environment. Sent by the Peace Corps to West Africa, Fox was able to study the constant misuse of pest control going on in foreign countries.

^[5]In November, 1997, Fox was chosen as part of the Lemelson Center's Innovative Lives Series to announce a speech to students about selective crossbreeding, the method of hand-spun cotton, and her recent plant data.

Career

During 1982, Sally Fox was working under a cotton breeder as a pollinator who was aiming to achieve ways to develop pest-resistant plants. Overtime, Fox found out about colored cotton through her mentor and grew a strong interest towards the product. She wanted to be able to develop organic, sustainable methods of growing colored cotton without damaging the environment. In order to proceed with her plans, she invested in owning land to grow her own cotton where she was also able to spin colored cotton onto her machines and received a patent. Fox's passion to create natural fiber, textile, and a better environment lead her to an award, Plant Variety Protection Certificate.^[5] Fox is the founder of Natural Cotton Colours, Inc. in 1989 which started off as a small business and turned into a $10 million company that focuses on the creation of naturally grown, Foxfibre cotton. Her business expanded to the production of cotton for various companies such as Levi's, L.L. Bean, etc. ^[5]

Major Contribution

^[6]In 1989, Sally Fox was known for her invention of Foxfibre Cotton, which is naturally colored cotton created by breeding various different colored cottons, selecting the best seeds for long fibers, and replanting them after multiple years. For years, Fox crossbred colored cotton organically, thus she grew into a local business.

Fox's influence and leadership in protecting the earth through the creation of natural colored cotton has won awards such as 1993 United Nations Environmental Programme Award for the Environment, 1994 Discover Award for Technological Innovation, and Good Housekeeping's Green Housekeeping Award for Environmental Leadership.