Textile Exchange reports organic cotton growth turnaround

Recent research by the Organic Cotton Market Report revealed that the organic cotton market grew 10 percent from 2013 to 2014 following three consecutive years of production decline. The annual study, which was released by the Textile Exchange this June 2015, stated that the change in direction was because of the improvements in the textile supply chain and increased market demand.

Fifty-seven companies and industry organizations, including Cleaner Cotton, Better Cotton Initiative and Fairtrade were part of the survey. Many big brands are trying to make consumers more informed about their sustainability strategies and how their clothes are processed.

The volume of organic cotton used by the top 10 brands increased 25 percent in 2014 from the previous year. Dutch clothing chain C&A topped the list, followed by fast fashion brand H&M. Other names in the top 10 include Nike, Carrefour, and Target.

C&A, H&M and Inditex also made it to the list of top 10 organic cotton users in terms of growth.

Globally, land use for exclusive organic cotton growth rose by 5 percent while production growth is at 10 percent. India is the largest supplier of organic cotton, contributing 74 percent to the worldwide supply. The number of certified organic cotton textile plants in the country, Bangladesh and China, had more than doubled in the past year.

View a comparison table of organic cotton fabric suppliers on GlobalSources.com