The Carstarphen story actually begins in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago with the cultivation in the wild of the rare and prized black cotton seed, Gossypium Barbadense. Sea Island Cotton, as it came to be known, was prized by kings, queens and fashion aficionados and universally recognized as the finest cotton in the world.

For centuries, fashion connoisseurs since Queen Victoria and Edward VIII, as well as today’s most fashionable individuals have enthusiastically embraced the silky texture and exquisite luxury of Carstarphen Sea Island Cotton. The cotton even received an unsolicited endorsement from Ian Fleming whose fictional character, James Bond, suffered nothing less than a Sea Island Cotton shirt between himself and his holster.

For more than 100 years, the Carstarphen family has been an innovator in the American textile industry, gaining a reputation for producing high performance yarns for industries demanding zero tolerance quality standards.

The Carstarphen family is a regular supplier for the space program, was one of the first companies in the world to spin nylon, and is credited with spinning the yarn that comprises the carpet in the nation’s White House.