The National Cotton Council’s export promotions arm, Cotton Council International (CCI), is finding its new global textile manufacturing advisory initiative very popular — and resulting in significant purchases of U.S. raw cotton.
What is this cotton consultancy?
CCI created the COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ program to help textile manufacturing firms achieve greater profitability through improved productivity, including use of the latest technology/techniques. The SOLUTIONS™ team of experts created five business-building programs and is working with more than 1,500 mills in 50 countries. The programs are complimentary for U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol® members or COTTON USA™ licensees, and are available in person or virtually.
How do the five SOLUTIONS™ programs help?
The 1:1 Mill Consults program can help manufacturers reduce operational costs by 10% to 25% as it brings to the mill a world class mill expert for a one-day, in-depth mill examination followed by a consult that can last one or two weeks and then a follow-up six months later to determine if the adopted measures have generated the desired results. Through Technical Seminars, the SOLUTIONS™ technical consulting team advises the mill executives/staff on how to buy and optimize the use of U.S. cotton. Topics include best practices in spinning, handling, managing consistent quality and purchase strategy.
The third program, the Mill Mastery® Course, helps SOLUTIONS™ clients gain a new level of expertise with this informative course of study led by experts who have a combined 200 years plus experience. Next, the mill studies program provides a unique collection of research that offers hard data to boost mill efficiencies. Research topics range from the technical and financial advantages of different cotton types in various stages of the process, to dye uptake, the impact of fiber quality and more.
The Mill Exchange Program enables mill executives to tour COTTON USA™ licensee “Signature Mills” and learn more about U.S. cotton’s advantages. They exchange ideas with textile mill leaders from around the world and discuss best practices in yarn manufacturing, procurement, production and more — all with the aim of becoming more competitive.
Expected future sales of 1.7 million U.S. cotton bales resulted from the 10 technical seminars/webinars conducted in seven countries. Estimated future sales of 257,000 U.S. cotton bales stemmed from 87 mill visits in nine countries. The 23 mill executives representing 23 mills from three countries who participated in the Mill Mastery® course indicated they expect to purchase an additional 531,000 U.S. cotton bales.
Have CCI’s other programs had an impact this year?
Participants in CCI-coordinated webinars to raise awareness of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol® sustainability initiative expect to purchase 452,000 additional U.S. cotton bales. The 19 Pakistani textile executives who participated in CCI’s Special Trade Mission here expect to purchase an additional 575,000 U.S. cotton bales.
CCI’s Western Hemisphere Sourcing Fair attracted 112 executives representing eight U.S. yarn and textile companies, 35 Latin American textile/garment manufacturing companies, and 20 U.S. and Latin American brand, retailer and corporate image wear firms. Some $18 million of U.S. cotton-rich product purchases are expected from the Latin American firms. CCI’s Cotton Days Northeast Asia attracted 665 brand/retailer and mill attendees — and 80% of the mills are expected to purchase an additional 630,000 U.S. cotton bales.