According to this article by Eco-Textile News, although 2008 saw an increase in demand for organic cotton by 33%, global production was left with an 8% surplus. The article cites information released by non-profit Organic Exchange, who also claim that demand for organic cotton will likely result in a 24% increase in 2009 an worry that inventory will remain too high.
The Organic Cotton Market Report will be available in Feb 2009 for review.
Mary has a PhD in Sociology from University of Edinburgh, researching responsible fashion and transnational labour rights activism in the wake of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh.
but isn’t it great that farmers are growing more organic cotton… it’s good for them and good for the Earth. retailers and customers will catch on this year with the environment so much in the news. perhaps at a surplus, costs might come down a wee bit. all our tees are organic and i’d love to find more organic cotton vendors available.
I agree that it’s fantastic to see the demand for organic cotton increase as it has. Also, I agree that things will only get better for the industry. With an increase in demand for organic cotton, how have farmers on the non-organic side been affected? I think it would be interesting to see what, if any, the global surplus in 2008 for non-organic cotton was. Obviously there is a large difference in quantities being produced, but none the less, it would be an interesting comparison. Then we would have a relative point of reference.