Organic Cotton Strong Despite Recession
According to the Textile Exchange’s new “2009/2010 Organic Farm and Fiber” report, strong manufacturing demand resulted in “steady growth” in the organic-cotton market.
Now representing 1.1 percent of the world’s cotton production, organic-cotton production has grown 15 percent since the 2008/2009 report—pushing the world’s organic-cotton output from nearly 210,000 metric tons to 241,276 metric tons. The report, which says it expects this level of growth to continue into the next year, said organic-cotton production has increased 539 percent since the 2005–2006 growing season.
“Manufacturers, retailers and consumers, and, most importantly, farmers all signaled their continued interest in supporting organic-cotton production and the risks that came with it despite the recession,” said LaRhea Pepper, Textile Exchange’s senior director, in a statement.
According to the organization’s “Organic Cotton Market Report 2010,” global retail sales of organic cotton and home textile products topped $4.3 billion in 2009. The strength of those sales makes it important that the organic sector focus on rules and regulations, said Liesl Truscott, the lead author of the report and the Textile Exchange’s farm engagement director. “As organic cotton grows in volume, we must continue to strengthen integrity in production, certification and processing,” she said.
The report estimates that roughly 274,000 farmers in 23 countries are growing organic cotton, with India, which grows 80 percent of the world’s organic cotton, topping the list of the biggest producers for the third year in a row. The United States is the world’s fifth-largest grower of organic cotton. Other countries that grow organic cotton include Syria, Turkey, China, Greece, South Africa, Brazil, Pakistan and Israel.—Erin Barajas
