Walmart, C&A, Nike, H&M, Zara, Anvil, Coop Switzerland, Pottery Barn, Greensource, Hess Natur are top ten organic cotton-using brands and retailers. Global retail sales of organic cotton apparel and home textile products reached an estimated $3.2 billion in 2008, according to the Organic Cotton Market Report 2007-2008 released by the non-profit organization Organic Exchange today. This represents a 63 percent increase from the $1.9 billion market in 2007.
The top ten organic cotton-using brands and retailers globally were Wal-Mart (USA), C&A (Belgium), Nike (USA), H&M (SE), Zara (Spain), Anvil (USA), Coop Switzerland, Pottery Barn (USA), Greensource (USA), and Hess Natur (Germany).
Despite the global retail outlook, most brands and retailers selling organic cotton products remain committed to their sustainability plans and upbeat about market growth with plans to expand their product lines 24 and 33 percent in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to result in an estimated $4 billion market in 2009 and a $5.3 billion market in 2010.
"It is a sign of the times that despite ominous financial forecasts, brands and retailers are standing fast to their commitment to making their product lines more sustainable by ever increasing their use of organic cotton and other organic fibers such as wool, linen, and silk," said LaRhea Pepper, Organic Exchange senior director.
The amount of organic cotton farmers grew worldwide in 2007/08 increased 152 percent,according to OE's Organic Cotton Farm and Fiber Report 2008, organic cotton production increased to 145,872 metric tons (MT) (668,581 bales) grown on 161,000 hectares in 22
countries worldwide (from 57,932 MT (265,517 bales) produced in 2006/07).
OE notes that during 2008, certified organic cotton fibre supplies grew by 95 percent,significantly higher than annual growth rates of 45 percent in 2006 and 53 percent in 2007. "Farmers who planted on speculation or expanded without market partners may have shifted the market into a state of oversupply in 2009," says Pepper, who strongly discourages farmers from taking this kind of risk. "Brands may want to explore opportunities for expanding their organic programs with their business partners," she continued, "as for the first time in many years, supplies of organic fiber, yarns, and fabrics are more available than in previous years." Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers or genetically-modified seeds.
About Organic Exchange
Founded in 2002, Organic Exchange facilitates expansion of the global organic cotton fiber supply by working closely with the entire value chain, from farmers to retailers, to help develop organic cotton programs. OE has hosted numerous organic cotton conferences and trainings in supply chain centers around the world, including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
David Bennell became the new executive director of Organic Exchange December 1, 2008. Bennell was formerly the director of the Forest Stewardship Council Global Fund and the manager of product research, testing, and environmental affairs at L.L. Bean. OE's 7th Organic Exchange Global Conference and Marketplace will take place in Seattle, Washington in October, 2009.
The myth of Bangladesh being the cheapest garment manufacturer has been shattered, as Pakistan,India and China are luring away buyers with rock-bottom prices, sending Dhaka's exports into a tailspin.
Garment manufacturers said their exports grew more than 40 percent in the first quarter, despite the global recession, as orders meant for China were redirected to Bangladesh for its low-cost manufacturing reputation.
But the growth has slowed down sharply since October and is heading towards negative territory as Pakistan, India and China have poached many buyers by launching a price war.
"To be frank, Pakistan is now cheaper than Bangladesh in many items," head of Bangladesh and Pakistan sourcing of a top British retailer said.
"It's one of the reasons why Bangladesh's growth has suddenly declined although it looked perfectly alright in the initial months despite the global recession," the chief said.
Local exporters said India and Pakistan and a China--- buoyed by their governments -- have sharply lowered the values of their knitted and woven items, forcing retailers to move bulk of their orders there.
The countries lost ground to Bangladesh in the first half to December, but came back strongly since January.
"There is a huge scramble for orders in the international market," said Ziauddin Ahmed Chowdhury, a director of Knit Asia.
"In some of the knitted items, Pakistan and India have cut prices by 30-40 percent. We can't compete with these throw-away prices," he said, adding some manufacturers are operating at losses to keep orders.
"In the past, we used to wage price war with only ourselves. But now both Pakistan and India have plunged into the war, bolstered by their cheap currencies and huge state sops," he said.
While price is not the only factor that leads buyers to a country, it is one of the most important determinant for sourcing of a product, especially during recession.
"Top mass market retailers are slashing prices like anything. They don't care whether a supplier can make money or not," said Shawkat Iqbal, editor of Bangladesh Textile Journal.
"Pakistan is capitalising on this situation by blindly taking orders from the retailers. They are offering cheapest rates in denim, fancy fabrics and home textiles," he said.
Pakistan government has announced billions of rupees worth state aids for textile sector while its currency has been down by 30 percent, adding further lustre to its exports.
Iqbal said India is still costlier due to higher labour rate, but a falling rupee and bumber cotton harvest have made some of their products cheaper in recent months.
According to a Maharastra-based Indian textile group, its member factories are now witnessing a surge of orders from the European Union.
Shariar Alam, owner of leading garment manufacturer, Interstoff, said Pakistan won't be a threat in the long run, but Bangladesh should watch out for China and India who have come back strongly.
"They are now after every single cake," he said, adding Bangladesh woven manufacturers have lost most of their orders to these two countries.
"After April and May, our woven manufacturers hardly have any orders. And most of these orders have gone to either China or India," he said.
Especially, China has increased its tax rebate to its textile exporters to 15 percent, as it desperately tries to save jobs in the labour intensive sector.
The rebate allows Chinese textile companies who employ some 20 million people to get part of the money back they have paid in value-added tax on production input.
"China has halted its graduation into high valued textile manufacturing due to the global recession. At the moment, it is busy safeguarding its textile jobs," he said.
"It's subsidies have kept the low-end garment factories afloat, forcing buyers back to China again."
He said knitted exports of Bangladesh has still held up, thanks largely to cheap yarn prices in the past three months.
"But I don't know how long we can stay competitive with new curbs on yarn imports through Benapole and no signs of incentives from the government," he said.
There was further evidence of cash-strapped shoppers trading down when the cheap fashion retailer Peacocks said like-for-like sales had risen by more than 8% over the past three months. While many retailers are struggling to cope with the downturn in consumer demand, Peacocks, which has 524 shops across Britain, is continuing to expand and opened a further five stores during its fiscal fourth quarter, adding 32 across the year.
The company is taking the opportunity to move into often prime high street sites left vacant as other shops close, and has taken on six former Woolworths locations. Total sales were up 15.2%, including the new openings.
The high street is dividing along clear lines of those that are managing to weather the recession and retailers having a tougher time.
Primark, famous for its throwaway fashion, is also growing and recently reported a 5% increase in like-for-like sales. But it is not just cheaper fashion brands that are doing well. Poundland and discount food retailers Lidl and Aldi are also winning customers. Online fashion specialist Asos, which deals in celebrity-inspired fashion, has seen its sales more than double over the past 10 months.
Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, reported last week a decline in like-for-like sales of 4.2% over the past 13 weeks.
Peacocks is planning to increase the number of shop openings in the 2009-10 financial year to about 40. The company, which also owns Bonmarch�, has said it expects to create up to 750 jobs over the next two years. It said its success was partly down to its ability to respond quickly to fashion trends - between 30 and 50 new womenswear lines arrive in store every week.
Y-1 and Bunny Brahma varieties fell by Rs 200 per candy each due to sustained heavy selling pressure by industrial users.Similarly, Sankara-6-A turned cheaper by Rs 100 per candy on sluggish demand. Following are the spot cotton rates per candy (335.62 kg) in Rupees: Bengal Desi RG: 22,000, Bengal Desi SG: 22,800, V-797: 16,700, Karnataka Jayadhar: 18,000, Y-1: 20,000, Punjab J-34 (SG): 22,000, Punjab J-34 (RG): 22,600, H-4: 21,900, S-6-A: 21,100, Bunny Brahma: 22,100, MCU-5: 22,300 and DCH-32: 32,100.
The factory behind American Apparel's "Made in Downtown LA" slogan is in bankruptcy.
The factory is the focal point of the cotton-clad company's "Legalize LA" campaign. The company, which prides itself on manufacturing its hipster-friendly t-shirts and leggings in the U.S., is a vocal advocate for a path to legalization for California's undocumented workers. Politicians, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, have used the factory as a backdrop to talk about legalization.
