For Textile Mills Around the World – Cotton Quality Matters

What Customers Want

by Michael Morrell, President, Olah, Inc. New York, NY

Quality Still Counts

I just returned home from the Kingpins denim show in Amsterdam, which was produced by my company, Olah Inc. Cotton was widely discussed by both exhibitors and visitors to the show, a unique group representing designers, mills, jeans companies and accessory suppliers in the denim supply chain. There was a lively discussion of the benefits of using cotton. Interestingly, however, the discussion didn’t end there: companies wanted to know more about quality cotton and “green” initiatives. I saw Bayer’s e3 initiative up close at Kingpins. I can tell you that textile people today are interested in “green” programs, and they also want consistent, high quality cotton that spins better and produces a better fabric.

“It’s not possible to make premium denim without high quality cotton.” – Michael Morrell

Importance Of Education

To be sure, there are various sources explaining the virtues of cotton. Indeed, these sources help to inform the textile market about the benefits of using cotton, particularly when cotton is measured against synthetic fibers. For textile managers, fiber spinnability is critical to the efficiency of a mill. As a result, education about cotton quality is essential for the health of the textile supply chain.

Premium denim is all the rage in the jeans business today. To be honest, it’s not possible to make premium denim without high quality cotton, and FiberMax and Stoneville meet that demand. Cotton-growing practices also are important to textile mills as many of their customers –- apparel brands and retailers – require their suppliers to maintain environmentally sensitive supply chains. This is where e3 comes in: quality cotton grown according to verifiable production standards.

Quality and environmental friendliness are a great combination for today’s textile mills.