Why is moleskin exempt from the “don’t wear cotton to Antarctica” rule?

[Woodrowst]

Many Antarctica travel sites state you should not wear cotton to Antarctica.  At the same time, many of these sites state that moleskin is their favorite fabric for pants to Antarctica.  But….. moleskin is made of cotton.  So why is moleskin exempt from the “don’t wear cotton to Antarctica” rule?  What am I missing?

 

David

[skrink]

Could possibly be to prevent hypothermia.  Cotton doesn’t wick moisture as well as some other fabrics.  

[kaisatsu]

I’ve never seen moleskin in particular recommended. All of the recommendations I’ve seen are to wear moisture-wicking base and mid-layers and then a waterproof windproof outer shell. The most common fabric recommendation I see is wool.

 

There are a lot of expedition staff who are starting to turn away from synthetics entirely because of the pollution created by the micropolymers that enter the water system during washing (especially when laundering fleece midlayers). It’s possible that this may play a part in the recommendations for right-weave cotton as an alternative to synthetics.