cotton
棉 centers on the cotton plant and its soft white fiber used to make cloth.
棉 combines 木 (tree/plant) with 帛 (silk/cloth), reflecting the cotton plant that produces a fiber used like silk.
A tree 木 that produces a white cloth-like fiber 帛: that is the cotton plant.
For メン, imagine a man wearing a soft cotton shirt: man -> メン, and the cotton comes from the 棉 plant.
Indian cotton (raw)