Texas Tech Students Create Fashion-Forward Denim with U.S. Cotton

Texas Tech University student designers use U.S. cotton-rich denim to produce fashionable apparel for the second annual "Denim Runway" design contest. CCI co-sponsored the event with Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) in collaboration with the university's College of Human Sciences Department of Design's Apparel Design and Manufacturing program. Judges announced the winners following the TECHstyle Senior Fashion Show in Lubbock, TX. The COTTON USA Program will sponsor the two winning men's and women's jeans designers on a trip to the Colombiamoda trade show in Medellin, Colombia, to serve as ombudsmen for the U.S. cotton industry. The participants were exposed to the entire denim apparel supply chain, as they toured a local cotton farm during harvest, a cotton gin, and the American Cotton Growers denim mill. They also observed U.S. cotton farmers' good environmental stewardship during their farm visit. This year's "Denim Runway" introduced a Casual category, in which designers could create anything made with denim fabric, and a Cotton Trend Board category, in which the students predicted cotton fiber and apparel trends.

Sourcing USA Summit Engages Global Cotton Industry Leaders

Approximately 460 global cotton textile industry leaders from 24 countries attended the sixth biennial Sourcing USA Summit. The event took place from Nov. 9-12 at Terranea® in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Themed "Strengthening Enduring Partnerships," the Summit provided strategic thinking and networking opportunities to members of the global cotton and textile industries.

Preliminary survey results show that about 1.2 million bales of U.S. cotton were sold during the Summit, and the expected quantity to sell within three months following the Summit is about 3.5 million bales.

The keynote speaker kicked off the Summit with a thought-provoking futurist's presentation on global business and social trends. Business forums during the Summit covered U.S. cotton fiber qualities and traceability, the global cotton supply chain and the economic outlook for the cotton market. A former CNBC chief economist and co-host of SQUAWK BOX zeroed in on major economic and financial issues of the day. A novel bull and bear debate featuring a panel of global cotton industry leaders concluded the Summit's business forums. Each member of the audience used an interactive voting device to respond to questions pertaining to the speakers and panelists, providing immediate feedback throughout the business forums.

In a post event survey, 89 percent of respondents said the Summit presentations provided substantive new information. Furthermore, 98 percent said they recommend another Summit of this type.

The Summit is organized by Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated, with the support of the U.S. cotton industry and USDA. Nineteen U.S. export and 14 allied industry organizations sponsored the event.

Sourcing USA Summit VI to be held in California Nov. 9-12

Discover Natural Fibers Initiative (DNFI) Established to Increase Awareness of Natural Fibers, Including Cotton

A coalition between CCI and other international natural fiber organizations established the DNFI to extend the partnership initiated by the International Year of Natural Fibers (IYNF) Steering Committee organizations. The DNFI will build on the success of the IYNF and adopt the same objective, which is "to raise the awareness and profile of natural fibers, including cotton, and emphasize their value to global consumers while helping to sustain farmer income." The decision to continue working closely together was the result of an IYNF committee meeting held in Frankfurt, Germany, in January. DNFI is an alliance of key international natural fiber organizations including CCI, the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO), the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), the Bremen Cotton Exchange, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), the International Forum for Cotton Promotion (IFCP) and others.

Leading Textile Manufacturers Visit U.S. Cotton Operations

Global Consumers Create U.S. Cotton T-Shirts for COTTON USA Contest

In honor of the International Year of Natural Fibers, CCI organized a T-shirt design competition in the following 10 countries: China, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the UK. Contestants submitted their T-shirt designs to represent the theme “Cotton’s Natural World.” Individual winners were selected in each country, and their designs faced off in a global competition. The winning design from China, titled “Buddha and Hands of Cotton,” was selected as the international winner by a judging panel made up of representatives from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Cotton Incorporated and CCI. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 the International Year of Natural Fibres in order to raise the profile of natural fibers, including cotton, and emphasize their value to consumers, while helping to sustain the incomes of the farmers. Cotton - a renewable, biodegradable and sustainable resource - is the largest natural fiber in the global fiber, textile and apparel economy, now representing roughly 80 percent of all natural fibers consumed.


                                                            

                                         (Entry from China)                                                                                    (Entry from Colombia) 

                                                                                

                                                                                                   (Entry from India)

COTTON USA Western Hemisphere Manufacturers Tour Brings Yarn and Fabric Buyers to the U.S.

During a three-day tour, participants from nine Western Hemisphere countries met with U.S. cotton textile mills, toured a cotton farm and gin, and received briefings on topics ranging from a cotton fiber supply/demand outlook to cotton consumer and retail trends. The COTTON USA Sourcing Program arranged the tour to enhance sales of U.S. manufactured cotton yarn and fabric and to encourage business relationships to help U.S. textile mills take advantage of the various free trade agreements within this hemisphere. Participants included yarn buyers from 29 firms and fabric buyers from 10 firms. Countries represented include Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Haiti and Mexico. The group met with top U.S. textile industry executives representing Buhler Quality Yarns Corp., Carolina Cotton Works, Contempora Fabrics, Frontier Spinning Mills, Hamrick Mills, Parkdale, Tuscarora Yarns and Zagis USA.

Sourcing USA Summit Defines Future Directions for Global Cotton

2009 (Winter)
The fifth Sourcing USA Summit gathered 410 representatives of the cotton industry for a three-day meeting that may serve to redefine global direction and foster enhanced collaboration along the cotton supply chain. The Summit, presented jointly by CCI and Cotton Incorporated and funded by the U.S. cotton industry and USDA, has for the past 11 years brought together global leaders along the cotton supply chain for an open exchange of ideas. Anchoring this year’s conference was an assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that applied that organization’s Seven Revolutions model to the entire cotton industry. Summit Business Forums focused on “Cotton’s Revolutions”—resources, technology and governance—as well as strategic thinking, agricultural research, textile innovations and marketing data to help companies throughout the supply chain survive and prosper during these difficult economic times.  Preliminary survey results show that about 80 percent of Summit attendees said the forums provided substantive new information.