Q4 Preview: Cotton’s Future Role in Global Textiles
September 18, 2012 If the cotton industry is going to prosper over the long run, the development of new technologies will be essential. That’s the perspective of Robert Antoshak, managing director of New York-based Olah Inc., a textile marketing, development and sales agency.
“The market demands [increased use of technology] and the cotton industry can deliver over time,” Antoshak says. “Additionally, the cotton industry must increasingly focus on marketing and educational campaigns. The best technology in the world can wither on the vine without strong marketing. Remember Betamax tapes?”
The perspective of Olah Inc.’s executive team shouldn’t be easily dismissed. The leaders of the 53-year-old company are able to offer a broad industry perspective based on the diversity of Olah Inc.’s five divisions – consulting; Kingpins shows; education; apparel manufacturing; and textile development and marketing. Antoshak will be giving a presentation entitled “Global Cotton and Textiles: Friends or Foes?” in Hanoi, Vietnam on Nov. 4, during the popular Fibre Session at the annual meeting of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF).
The industry’s biggest challenge, Antoshak says, might be to do what all industries tend to resist (especially one as old and traditional as the cotton trade): adapt and change with the times.
“The industry needs to embrace new business models and not be fearful of changing its way of doing business just because ‘that’s the way business has been conducted for years,’” Antoshak says. “Downstream customers are demanding more of cotton growers and fiber companies, and synthetic fiber companies are actively working to meet the challenge of our ever-changing marketplace.
“It is imperative that cotton meet that challenge as well. Remember wool? Today, wool is a relatively small percentage of the global consumption of all fibers, but there was a time when that was not the case. Times changed, but the wool industry failed to adapt. Let’s not let that happen to cotton.”
Be sure to watch for the complete interview with Robert Antoshak in the Q4 issue of Cotton International, which will be available in October.
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