1). Make sure the comforters, fitted sheets, flat sheets or pillow shams are made from ELS (extra-long staple) cotton. ELS cotton has a staple length of  1 3/8" and is used to weave yarn that is quite thin yet very durable.

2). High thread count. Usually the higher the TC (thread count) , the more durable the sheets will be. Cotton sheets with thread counts of over 200 are considered acceptable, however Egyptian cotton sheets are often made with higher thread counts suach as 450, 800 and 1,500.

3). Make sure the comforters, pillows, duvet covers or fitted sheets you purchase are in fact all cotton.. Sometimes, bedding stores will try to get away with selling blends. These sheet sets may say "Egyptian cotton" on the info tag, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Egyptian cotton was the only material used while making the sheets. Inspect the label closely before you buy.