棉花的出现摧毁了亚麻。为了获取这种柔软的纤维，人类付出了惨痛的代价：英国殖民印度摧毁了当地的手工纺织业；美国南部的棉花种植离不开奴隶制；今天，德克萨斯的棉花抽干了地下水，而新疆的棉花则牵扯着复杂的劳工和地缘政治问题。 > The Industrial Revolution was a fabric revolution. > "...those who have profited most from cotton in the last five hundred years have done so by displaying an unspeakable indifference to human suffering."