Archive: Jun 2014

Global Cotton Usage and the Synthetic Market

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Jason Mills, LLC is a manufacturer of knit textile products. Although our fabrics are derived exclusively from synthetic fibers, the global usage of cotton can still play a large role in our costs as many factors are inter-related. Chief amongst them is supply vs. demand. Cotton being a natural fiber is prone to huge shifts in costs as global climate change can wreck havoc on the crop. This of course can create a spike in cotton prices as was seen in 2011. Manufacturers that normally used 100% cotton began using synthetic blends to reduce expenses. Consequently this lead to higher demand for synthetic fibers, and thus costs were driven upward.

This can especially be seen in America now. The US has recently seen an increase in demand for synthetic fabrics as the price for cotton remains unstable. Additionally, companies discovered that buyers didn’t necessarily have a preference for cotton or synthetic fibers. Even though cotton prices have once again dropped, the demand for synthetics is still high. Hanes (a huge global user of cotton) Brand T-shirts recently announced that it would shift away from 100% cotton to a blend synthetic fiber.

To learn more about Jason Mills and our selection of industrial textiles, visit our website. And follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the textile industry.