According to a report by Textile Exchange (formerly Organic Exchange), neither the recession nor unstable economies have put a damper on the fast-growing organic textiles industry, which grew 20% to an estimated $5.16 billion in 2010.
The results of TE surveys and interviews were used to develop the 2010 Global Market Report on Sustainable Textiles, and the Top Ten organic cotton-using brands and retailers globally last year were: H&M (Sweden), C&A (Belgium), Nike (Oregon, USA), Inditex (Zara) (Spain), Adidas (Germany), Greensource (Washington, USA), Anvil (New York, USA), Target (Minnesota, USA), Disney Consumer Products (California, USA) and Otto Group (Germany).
“Consumers continue to be committed to supporting the use of organic cotton and other sustainable fibres, while brands and retailers continue to make their product lines more sustainable by continuing to increase their use of such fibres and safer, more innovative manufacturing processes,” said LaRhea Pepper, Textile Exchange managing director.
20% – the projected growth of demand for organic cotton in 2011
Several brands and retailers more than doubled their usage of organic cotton, and plan to do so in 2012 as well. Others with large programmes are staying the course. As a result, Textile Exchange projects that the global organic cotton market will increase another 20% in 2011 to result in an estimated $6.2 billion market by the end of 2011 and a $7.4 billion market in 2012.
2010 was the first year that Textile Exchange requested data regarding industry use of sustainable fibres including recycled and cellulosic fibre. Two fibres, recycled polyester and Tencel® were the two leading fibres in terms of quantity reported by responding companies, with all respondents indicating substantial increases in use of those and other sustainable fibres in the upcoming years. The 2010 results will form the base line for next year’s report.
Key areas identified for collaborative work in the future include developing a harmonised definition of a sustainable or preferred textiles and equipping more players in the textile, apparel, and home furnishings industries to integrate sustainability into their businesses and product strategies through training, tools, and information.
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