Cotton Council International
June 14, 2011 Global demand for cotton and cotton products is experiencing an upturn, and there is a need to refill fiber and textile pipelines. The world needs more cotton fiber, particularly in rapidly developing economies like China and India. Convinced that demand is the key to long-term profitability, Cotton Council International (CCI) is working to service partners and licensees throughout the global cotton supply chain to keep underlying demand strong for cotton and U.S. cotton products in the face of sharply higher prices.
CCI’s calendar in 2011 is full. In January and February, CCI showcased U.S. cotton in front of representatives from all segments of the cotton industry at trade shows around the world: Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany; Colombiatex in Medellin, Colombia; and Texworld and Premiere Vision in Paris, France.
In March, the COTTON USA Buyers Tour to Southeast Asia brought together 27 global cotton product sourcers from the U.S. and six countries from Europe and Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, to connect U.S. cotton through to retail via textile and apparel suppliers from Southeast Asia.
Like similar events, this tour provided opportunities for overseas buyers to meet the entire supply chain in one location, streamlining the sourcing process and reinforcing the long-term business connection with U.S. fiber for retailers, manufacturers and the cotton industry alike. CCI is working closely with mills and manufacturers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region to target exterior and Asian regional markets with products containing U.S. fiber.
Buyer tours are just one activity type in CCI’s COTTON USA Supply Chain Marketing (SCM) program. The COTTON USA SCM program’s strategy is to work forward from the spinner/weaver to facilitate business relationships between the cotton-rich U.S. textile industry and garment manufacturing companies worldwide and their downstream brand/retail customers.
In Latin America, CCI’s SCM efforts (via the COTTON USA Sourcing Program) focus on developing business connections for U.S. cotton yarns and textiles to the Western Hemisphere and beyond. The COTTON USA Sourcing Program is taking broader steps this year to expand the markets for Western Hemisphere-made products through its Sourcing Fair for Latin American and European retailers held in Lima, Peru. The Apparel Sourcing Show in Guatemala City, held in March, and the COTTON USA Western Hemisphere Sourcing Fair scheduled for May in Cancun, Mexico, represent other opportunities to showcase U.S. textile mills.
Some other key events on CCI’s 2011 schedule include the COTTON USA Special Trade Mission from Turkey, which will bring a delegation to the U.S. in May to meet industry officials and reaffirm the benefits of maintaining the U.S. as its principal source of imported cotton fiber. In May, CCI will also sponsor its annual Cotton Day celebrations across Northeast Asia, highlighting the benefits of cotton fiber through branded consumer events and press interviews. The COTTON USA Orientation Tour in September will bring mid-level global textile executives on an educational tour of the U.S. Cotton Belt.
In October, the COTTON USA Supply Chain Conference will examine the changes and challenges ahead for the European industry from fiber to retail, including how businesses can build efficient cotton supply chains amidst record fiber prices, limited availability and sourcing challenges.
Shifting to the consumer, CCI’s new COTTON USA advertising campaigns in Western Europe and China promote the many benefits of U.S. cotton, including its quality, versatility and environmental responsibility to the end user.
The 2011 COTTON USA campaign in Western Europe features cotton clothing from 17 international and European brands and designers. This trade and consumer campaign targets both men and women, and the ads are featured in a wide range of fashion and lifestyle publications. In Germany, the COTTON USA ads also are featured on outdoor advertising, such as info screens at key tram and underground stations and at the airports in Dusseldorf, Berlin and Munich. As part of the campaign, CCI has revamped its trade and consumer websites. Providing a platform for news on U.S. cotton, revamped websites in the U.K., Italy and Germany feature new advertising images and showcase the latest news from COTTON USA. The German COTTON USA website is linked to the German COTTON USA Facebook site to build a community and further raise the positive image of U.S. cotton through social media.
On the other side of the globe, CCI China’s “Naturally Connecting the World” campaign follows its “Natural World” and “Naturally in Love” campaigns from the past two years. At the launch event, CCI displayed a globe covered with cotton cloth from each country to illustrate the theme of “Naturally Connecting the World.” A special video took viewers on a “COTTON USA Journey” from U.S. cotton fields to Chinese textile factories, and finally to retail stores.
In addition to COTTON USA-branded promotions, CCI has several generic promotions of cotton to raise underlying demand, including the third season of its “Let’s Design” fashion competition in India, and CCI and Cotton Incorporated’s “Cotton — Beyond Your Imagination” campaign in China. These two rapidly developing economies are swing markets powering the demand base to keep cotton prices strong even as global supplies expand.
Cotton’s Revolutions is yet another innovative initiative developed by CCI. Working with NCC, Cotton Incorporated and U.S. industry leadership, CCI launched this initiative to engage the global cotton textile and apparel industry in strategic thinking that anticipates developments that will affect the entire supply chain during the coming decades. The Cotton Foundation’s Vision 21 project, along with the USDA Market Access Program (MAP), provided funding support for the initiative. Cotton’s Revolutions draws on global leaders throughout the cotton textile supply chain to address four overarching topics affecting the future of our industry: resource management and environmental stewardship, technological innovation, economic integration and governance.
The variety of promotions, events and advertising that CCI carries out on an ongoing basis calls global attention to U.S. cotton and cotton products from farm to final consumer. To ensure profitability for our export-driven industry, CCI works with the entire U.S. cotton industry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build sustainable demand for U.S. cotton and cotton products through innovative, targeted services and promotions.
Whether during times of abundance or scarcity, consumer demand is the driver of profitability for the cotton textile industry. CCI, through the COTTON USA program, helps keep cotton as the fiber of choice for consumers, and U.S. cotton and its products as the preferred fiber source worldwide.
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