1. INTRODUCTION
Linear programming, an operations research technique is widely used in finding solutions to complex managerial decision problems. The introduction of linear programming (LP) has produced remarkable benefits in a number of industries. The early experimental applications of LP techniques in the petroleum industry as a refinery management tool had such profound effects that LP is now standard in almost every aspect of that industry. The first application of LP in the textile industry was designed to produce optimal plant efficiency, that is, allocate plant resources to production problems so as to achieve the highest practical return.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the application of LP model in the blending (mixing) of cotton to produce Acrylic yarn in case of Arbaminch Textile factory. Because the cotton blending process involves complex quality control, it is particularly responsive to LP techniques. In view of today’s technology, the process of cotton fiber selection should undergo an inevitable transition from the traditional pure art to a sound scientific technique. In order to achieve this transition, fiber selection should be integrated into a cotton fiber mixing program that attempts to optimize cotton fiber use with respect to cost and quality of end product.

I attempted to examine the practical aspect of linear programming for optimization of cost of producing cotton blended yarn in Arbaminch textile factory without impinging the required comfort and quality. In textile spinning industry row cotton fibers are blended with various proportions in an intention to optimize cost and quality. The objective is to find an optimal proportion of cotton fibers such that blended yarn cost is minimized with desired comfort and mechanical properties of the blended product. To demonstrate the methods and advantages of LP in cotton