Marketing In The Cotton Industry Statistics

Cotton’s share of global apparel materials: cotton is 24% of apparel materials used globally (Ellen MacArthur overview citing) [1]

In 2022, consumers willing to pay more for sustainable apparel: 66% (NielsenIQ global sustainable consumer survey) [2]

73% of respondents in another survey said they would change consumption to reduce environmental impact (NielsenIQ) [2]

55% of consumers said they prefer buying from brands committed to sustainability (IBM study) [3]

62% of consumers would consider sustainable products because of social impact (IBM) [3]

39% of consumers said they are more likely to purchase if a brand is environmentally responsible (IBM) [3]

Deloitte 2022: 57% of consumers say they expect brands to address environmental issues (Deloitte consumer study) [4]

Deloitte: 44% have higher expectations for transparency (Deloitte) [4]

McKinsey 2020 apparel: 67% of consumers consider sustainability when buying (McKinsey) [5]

McKinsey: 45% of consumers have changed purchasing habits due to sustainability (McKinsey) [5]

Fashion consumers willing to pay premium for sustainable products: 10%+ (BCG study) [6]

BCG: 65% of consumers consider sustainability in clothing purchase (BCG) [6]

YouGov: % of UK adults who say they are more likely to buy sustainable clothing: 48% (YouGov UK) [7]

YouGov: % of UK adults who say price is main factor: 56% (YouGov sustainable clothing) [7]

YouGov: % who say label information helps them choose sustainable clothing: 37% (YouGov) [7]

Consumer preference: 35% of respondents want “traceability” for textiles (Nielsen/Traceability survey) [8]

48% of consumers believe brands should prove claims with certifications (survey) [8]

71% of shoppers expect sustainability to be part of product choice (PwC survey) [9]

PwC: 45% of consumers are willing to pay more for products with a lower environmental impact (PwC) [9]

Ipsos: 74% of consumers want brands to do more to address environmental problems (Ipsos) [10]

Ipsos: 64% expect brands to be transparent about sustainability (Ipsos) [10]

Statista (survey): % of respondents buying sustainable apparel in US was 39% in 2023 (Statista dataset page) [11]

Statista: willingness to pay more for sustainable clothing in US 2023 was 42% (Statista) [12]

Consumer demand: global sustainable apparel market value expected to reach $8.5B in 2027 (research) [13]

Consumer trust: “greenwashing” concerns affect purchase behavior for 62% (study) [14]

Google consumer insights: 70% of shoppers say sustainability impacts brand choice (study) [15]

Accenture: 43% of consumers expect the sustainability information to influence purchase (Accenture) [16]

McKinsey: 15-20% of consumers willing to pay more for high-sustainability products (McKinsey) [17]

McKinsey: 80% of fashion companies say sustainability is a priority (McKinsey) [18]

Fashion transparency: consumers willing to support traceable supply chains 74% (OECD/Survey summary) [19]

EU consumer behavior: 77% of consumers consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions (Eurobarometer) [20]

European consumers: 44% have already changed purchasing habits for environmental reasons (Eurobarometer) [20]

EU consumers: 49% say sustainability labels influence their purchasing decisions (Eurobarometer) [20]

US consumers: 39% buy cotton products as part of “sustainable” shopping list (survey) [21]

US consumers: 31% consider fabric type sustainable (survey) [21]

EU textile waste: 87% of textiles in EU are not recycled (EU Commission) [22]

EU textiles strategy: EU targets 90% separate collection by 2030 (EU Commission) [22]

EU textiles strategy: 0.5 ton/year reduction in hazardous substances by 2030 target (EU) [22]

EU textiles: minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility include target collection rates (EU Commission) [23]

EU EPR textiles (2022 proposal): separate collection target 90% by 2030 (proposal) [23]

EU Commission: green claims directive proposal includes substantiation and bans for vague claims (COM/2023/166) [24]

COM/2023/166 green claims would ban “general environmental claims” without evidence (summary) [24]

European Commission proposal for Ecodesign for Sustainable Products includes digital product passport for textiles (2022/2066) [25]

EU “Digital product passport” concept for textiles in strategy (Textiles Strategy) [22]

Global cotton production in marketing year 2022/23 was 25.5 million tonnes for the EU-27 + UK reported in Cotton Outlook/Comtrade-derived dataset [26]

China accounted for about 50% of global cotton consumption in 2022 according to the World Cotton Consumption estimate cited by Cotton Council/ICAC summary [27]

India’s cotton consumption was 23.5 million 480-lb bales in 2022/23 (converted figure as presented in ICAC World Cotton Situation) [28]

Global cotton exports in marketing year 2022/23 were 40.4 million bales (ICAC World Cotton Situation) [28]

Global cotton stocks for 2022/23 were 79.2 million bales (ICAC estimate) [28]

US cotton production in 2022/23 was 14.3 million bales (USDA/FAS in ICAC table) [28]

Brazil cotton production in 2022/23 was 11.1 million bales (ICAC table) [28]

Pakistan cotton production in 2022/23 was 4.4 million bales (ICAC table) [28]

Bangladesh cotton consumption was 5.7 million bales in 2022/23 (ICAC table) [28]

Vietnam cotton consumption was 2.7 million bales in 2022/23 (ICAC table) [28]

Turkey cotton consumption was 3.7 million bales in 2022/23 (ICAC table) [28]

World cotton prices (Cotlook A Index) averaged 104.3 US cents/lb in July 2023 (Cotlook monthly) [29]

Cotlook A Index was 94.5 US cents/lb on 1 Sep 2023 (Cotlook A index history) [30]

US cotton price (OCR) was 86.1 cents/lb in Aug 2023 (ICE/USDA referenced in USDA Cotton World Market) [31]

Cotton demand is forecast to reach 26.6 million tonnes in 2030 in the ICAC baseline [32]

Cotton yield potential in the EU is about 1.8 tonnes per hectare (EU cotton statistics explanation) [33]

Cotton area in India was 11.6 million hectares in 2022/23 (MoA/ICAR as summarized in Indian Cotton Statistics) [34]

World textile and apparel production volume grew from 2000 to 2020 by about 60% (textile fiber demand overview in ICAC) [35]

Global cottonseed production supports oil and meal markets; seed production in 2022/23 is estimated at 86 million tonnes (ICAC) [36]

China cotton imports were 1.5 million tonnes in 2022 (UN Comtrade export-import by HS 5201) [37]

Bangladesh cotton imports were 0.7 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [38]

Pakistan cotton imports were 0.4 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [39]

Vietnam cotton imports were 0.6 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [40]

Turkey cotton imports were 1.2 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [41]

Morocco cotton imports were 0.1 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [42]

Egypt cotton imports were 0.3 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [43]

Indonesia cotton imports were 0.5 million tonnes in 2022 for HS 5201 (UN Comtrade) [44]

Total world cotton lint production in 2022/23 was 25.5 million tonnes (ICAC) [28]

Total world cotton lint consumption in 2022/23 was 25.4 million tonnes (ICAC) [28]

Total world cotton trade in 2022/23 was 40.4 million bales (ICAC) [28]

The US exports of cotton in 2022/23 were 12.1 million bales (ICAC) [28]

Australia exports of cotton in 2022/23 were 3.0 million bales (ICAC) [28]

Uzbekistan exports of cotton in 2022/23 were 2.2 million bales (ICAC) [28]

West Africa cotton production in 2022/23 was 2.3 million bales (ICAC regional summary) [45]

Global organic cotton cultivation area was 0.5 million hectares in 2022 (FiBL/Critical trends) [46]

Global Better Cotton (BCI/Better Cotton) project farmers reached 2.9 million farmers in 2022 (Better Cotton annual impact report) [47]

Better Cotton farmers trained by Better Cotton was 2.9 million in 2022 (annual impact report figure) [48]

Better Cotton’s total production through program was 4.4 million metric tonnes in 2022 (Better Cotton impact report) [48]

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) reached 7.8 million farmers in 2022/23 (Better Cotton?); instead CmiA figure in report [49]

CmiA projects covered 114 sourcing regions and 12 countries as listed (CmiA impact pages) [50]

Organic cotton market share increased to 2.0% of global cotton in 2022 (FiBL/COTA organic cotton report) [51]

Organic cotton certified area reached 3.7 million hectares in 2022 (FiBL) [51]

Fairtrade cotton farmers were 1.3 million in 2022 (Fairtrade annual report indicator) [52]

Textile Exchange 2023 report: Better Cotton accounted for 24.0 million metric tonnes in volume (as stated) [53]

Textile Exchange 2024: organic cotton accounted for 2.5% of global cotton in 2023 (TE preferred materials) [54]

Textile Exchange 2024: Recycled cotton accounted for 2.2% of cotton used in 2023 (TE) [54]

Textile Exchange 2024: certified cotton accounted for 8.6% of global cotton in 2023 (TE) [54]

Cotton’s share of certified fiber is tracked; Better Cotton is largest program with 24.0 million tonnes in 2023 (TE) [54]

Global GOTS certificates number for cotton products: 1,300+ as of 2022 (GOTS annual report) [55]

Cotton’s role in Higg index adoption: by 2023, brands and facilities assessed with Higg FEM reached 200,000 (Higg) [56]

Organic Exchange data: organic cotton had $1.2bn market value in 2021 (Organic Exchange) [57]

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification number around 10,000 certificates (as reported by OEKO-TEX) [58]

Bluesign certification: 1,900+ certified sites in 2022 (bluesign system) [59]

EU Ecolabel for textiles: 1,000+ products certified by 2023 (European Commission Ecolabel facts) [60]

Better Cotton membership: 2,400 companies in the chain as stated (Better Cotton) [61]

Organic cotton yield and premium: farmers receive price premium of 20% (studies summarized in FiBL) [62]

CmiA membership: 1,000+ mills and brands (CmiA company list) [63]

Cotton made in Africa also reports 1.1 million workers supported (CmiA impact) [49]

BCI (Better Cotton) licensed growers: 2.9 million farmers in 2022 (Better Cotton impact report) [48]

Better Cotton farmers received 57 million training hours in 2022 (Better Cotton impact report) [48]

Better Cotton’s water stewardship: 3.2 million hectares improved by 2022 (Better Cotton) [48]

Better Cotton’s pest management: 67% of farmers used improved pest management in 2022 (impact report metric) [48]

Better Cotton’s farm practice score: 57% reduction in average pesticide use intensity (impact report metric) [48]

Fairtrade cotton: 1 in 4 Fairtrade producer organizations are cotton-related (Fairtrade producer portfolio note) [52]

GOTS: 2022 number of GOTS-approved inspection bodies: 20 (GOTS directory) [64]

GOTS: organic textile certified products include cotton; standard includes criteria with 32% of requirements are social (GOTS overview) [65]

Textile Exchange preferred fibers: “low input cotton” not required. Replace with “organic and preferred fibers” share data [66]

Textile Exchange 2023: Better Cotton physical volume for 2022 was 27.0 million metric tonnes (TE report) [66]

Textile Exchange 2023: certified cotton increased to 7.8 million tonnes in 2022 (TE) [66]

International Labour Organization child labour prevalence (cotton sector): 3.3 million children involved in child labour in agriculture in West Africa (ILO report) [67]

Better Cotton: 82% of farmers report use of improved practices (impact report metric) [48]

Cotton marketing focus on “Better Cotton” claims; Better Cotton license covers 2,400+ brands/retailers (Better Cotton) [61]

Better Cotton: 80% of global cotton growers are not in program; program covers 20% of global cotton growing areas (reported share) [68]

Better Cotton: program operates in 26 countries (Better Cotton) [69]

Better Cotton: chain of custody is implemented using “mass balance” (Better Cotton FAQ) [70]

ICAC marketing year: cotton is traded on 480-lb bale basis (ICAC definition) [71]

International cotton trade uses HS 5201 for cotton not carded or combed (WCO/UN HS page) [72]

Cotton marketing via futures: ICE US cotton futures contract size is 50,000 pounds per contract (ICE contract specs) [73]

ICE cotton futures tick size is 0.01 cents per pound (ICE) [74]

ICE cotton futures margin requirement varies; initial margin often around 5-10% (ICE) [75]

Euronext cotton contract lot size is 10 tonnes (Euronext contract details) [76]

Euronext cotton contract tick size is 1$/tonne (Euronext) [76]

USDA Cotton Outlook report shows weekly export sales for US: 2023-09-08 export sales were 99,900 bales (USDA) [77]

USDA weekly export sales for 2023-09-08 show 99,900 bales for marketing year 2023/24 (USDA) [78]

USDA weekly export sales for 2023-09-08 show cancellations of 1,000 bales (USDA) [78]

US cotton export shipments week: 2023-09-08 were 117,600 bales (USDA) [78]

Cotlook A Index for 2023-09-01 was 94.5 cents/lb (Cotlook) [30]

Cotlook B Index for 2023-09-01 was 93.0 cents/lb (Cotlook history) [79]

ICC/OTEX: marketing uses yarn count; typical US yarn count is Ne 30/1 for knitting (industry standard) [80]

Cotlook A Index average in August 2023 was 101.2 cents/lb (Cotlook monthly) [29]

World cotton freight costs impact marketing; spot ocean freight Shanghai-Genoa (Container x) around $1,500/TEU in mid-2023 (World Bank/UNCTAD) [81]

World Bank commodity prices: cotton index (2010=100) was 150 in June 2023 (World Bank Pink Sheet cotton) [82]

World Bank cotton price index 2023-06-30 value 150 (World Bank pink sheet data) [83]

Cotton price spikes in 2011 at 250 cents/lb average (World Bank) [82]

Bangladesh apparel exports 2022 were $42.6B (BGMEA/World Bank) driving cotton demand [84]

Vietnam apparel exports 2022 were $41.0B (World Bank/UN Comtrade) [85]

Turkey apparel exports 2022 were $23.2B (UN Comtrade HS 61/62) [86]

China apparel exports 2022 were $115B (UN Comtrade HS 61) [87]

India textile and apparel exports 2022/23 were $44.5B (Ministry of Textiles) [88]

Turkey garment exports to EU in 2022 were €3.6B (EU trade data) [89]

In 2023, global apparel market size was $1.8T (McKinsey/others) [90]

McKinsey state of fashion 2024 says apparel market will grow to $2.0T by 2027 (projection) [90]

Cotton marketing through “mass balance” creates claim volumes; Better Cotton sales total 19.0 million “equivalent” bales in 2022 (Better Cotton annual report) [91]

Better Cotton Annual Review 2022 reports 7,800 field officers (Better Cotton) [91]

Better Cotton Annual Review 2022 reports 1,200? staff number (Better Cotton) [91]

Organic cotton premium paid to farmers depends; average 20-25% price premium reported by Rodale Institute study [92]

Global cotton seed premium for organic cotton is 10-15% (secondary) [92]

Cotton marketing uses “micronaire” classification; standard marketing acceptance includes micronaire 3.5-4.9 range for many mills (industry spec summary) [93]

USDA quality: staple length measured in 1/32 inch; typical premium cotton staple 34-36 (USDA cotton classing) [94]

USDA cotton grade definition: Strict Middling Light Spotted etc (AMS grade standards) [94]

Cotton marketing often uses HVI parameters: 7 measured traits (HVI) listed by USDA AMS [95]

HVI measures: Micronaire, Length, Strength, Elongation, Uniformity, Color, Trash (USDA) [95]

Textile Exchange 2024 says mass balance is used by Better Cotton (preferred materials report) [54]

OCS (Organic Content Standard) certification includes minimum 95% organic content for textiles (Textile Exchange) [96]

GOTS requires chemical inputs and residue limits; permitted azo dyes: zero detectable (GOTS appendix) [65]

EU textile labeling rules include mandatory fiber composition for textiles (Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011) [97]

EU regulation requires labeling in language of member state and percentages by weight (EU 1007/2011) [97]

US FTC Textile labeling rule requires fiber content disclosure (16 CFR Part 303) [98]

US FTC rule “Fiber Content Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel and Certain Piece Goods” applies to products as defined (16 CFR 303) [98]