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"Tow" refers to short or broken fibers, typically from flax, hemp, or synthetic materials, used for making yarn, twine, or stuffing. It can also describe yarn or cloth made from these fibers, or a loose strand of synthetic fibers without much twist.1

In textile production, synthetic filaments grouped together without twist are called tow. These filaments can be twisted to create yarns of specific thicknesses. Unlike long filaments, shorter staple fibers like cotton need to be tightly twisted to form usable yarn. Synthetic fibers, when cut to short lengths, become staple fibers and are often referred to by their fiber name followed by "staple," such as rayon staple.2

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