Cotton Incorporated: Identity Programs Provide Options for Sustainability

It’s no secret that cotton demand has taken a beating over the past three years. The decline stems from sluggish global economic growth – which affects all fibers – as well as the lingering negative market share impacts of $2 plus cotton in early 2010. Another factor is the supply chain’s push for sustainable fibers, which, unfortunately, often hurts cotton due to misinformation, or failure to recognize positive changes that have taken place on the farm, both in the U.S. and around the world. Globally, cotton’s loss in market share has cost us about 12 million bales in potential demand annually over the past three years. This in turn adversely affects cotton prices, reduces plantings, and ultimately lowers the exports of U.S. cotton.

Nonetheless, we may be on the verge of “a new frontier for cotton.” Cotton prices have been relatively stable over the past two years, and the longer we go with reasonable volatility, the more 2010 will be pushed out of the memory banks of the key decision makers who ultimately decide what fiber is in our clothes and home textiles. If there is a silver lining in China’s huge cotton reserves, it is that it probably acts as a hedge against another repeat of 2010.

What might be lost on many of the brands and retailers, though, is what the consumer thinks about the changes that have occurred in fiber content and product quality.

At Cotton Incorporated, we wanted to see whether consumers noticed the substitutions and, if so, whether this apparel met their expectations. This was the impetus for our Customer Comments Research Project, an analysis of more than 260,000 comments made by consumers on retailer and brand web sites. The analysis, which sought to quantify these qualitative responses, revealed that consumers noticed the switch and were largely unhappy with the results. Within select apparel categories, the substitution away from cotton resulted in apparel that was displeasing to the touch and performed poorly.

Consumer preference and stable pricing are not the only concerns of the modern cotton supply chain. The emphasis on a responsible production and manufacturing continues to grow, with more and more companies seeking proof of good environmental stewardship from their suppliers. In response, the U.S. and Australian cotton industries recently joined forces in a new program called Cotton LEADS.

The program includes efforts to co-promote our responsible cotton production practices, provide the global supply chain with science-based sustainability metrics, and even increase our collaboration on sustainability research to help drive further improvements. Cotton LEADS, along with the emergence of identity cottons such as Better Cotton Initiative and Cotton Made in Africa, provide cotton options that can fit into the range of sustainable or responsible sourcing criteria. Whether the cotton comes from individual certified farms around the world, or from cotton-producing countries with national oversight and capabilities, cotton options have increased for sustainability-minded companies.

The emergence of sustainability metrics, including cotton life cycle assessment, has helped illustrate the environmental gains cotton has made in recent years. Also helping the case for cotton is some evidence of easing hostility to biotechnology in the United Kingdom and Europe, and the potential for cotton to someday become a food crop in addition to its prominent role as the largest natural fiber.

The pieces are lining up for our industry to chart a new frontier for cotton.