Big Increase in Organic Cotton Sales

Organic Exchange – a non profit trade association working to expand the use of organically grown cotton – stated in its spring report that national organic cotton sales increased 55 percent annually, from $ 86 million in 2001 to $ 275 million in 2005.

As exemple the US clothing company Patagonia, based in Ventura, can be taken.
They recently tied for second in the Organic Exchange’s spring 2006 Global Organic Cotton Market Report that ranked businesses in terms of global organic cotton consumption. The founder and owner of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, founded the company in 1973 with the intention to rappel the limitations of the original outdoor climbing industry. Patagonia’s success comes at a time when the use of organically-grown cotton is becoming a trend in the apparel industry. The company generated $ 260 million in sales during 2005. Their entire line of cotton sportswear is 100 % organic, reports Pacbiztimes. Patagonia started to use organic materials in 1996. Jen Rapp, public relations manager for Patagonia, says that to them the number of other businesses that are now using organic cotton is more important than their second ranking.  She hopes to see organic become status quo in the sportswear market some day. In 1993, the company did an environmental life-cycle analysis of the fibres used most in their clothing, and, as Ms. Rapp says, found out that cotton was the most polluting and toxic of these fibres. After a couple of seasons, the switch to organic was done.

http://www.pacbiztimes.com/index.cfm?go2=articles/wk_051206d