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Cotton prices have soared to record highs following a global supply shortage. (Reuters/Stringer/Files)
This summer, shoppers will be paying 10 percent to 15 percent more on all cotton products, according to a new industry survey.
“I can’t recall a time when we’ve seen this type of retail price [ increase ] on cotton products,“ said Andrew Tananbaum, CEO of Capital Business Credit, which provides financing to clothing and home furnishing suppliers. Get the full story »
A Bureau of Printing and Engraving employee holds sheets of one dollar bills prior to cutting. (AP/Hillery Smith Garrison)
Sure, packs of T-shirts and socks are getting expensive because of skyrocketing cotton prices. Guess what else is made of cotton? The dollar bill in your wallet. In 2010, the cost of making one note jumped 50 percent from what it cost the government in 2008. Get the full story »
With cotton prices hitting all-time high Thursday, clothing sellers are challenged to do everything they can to avoid passing the cost on to shoppers.
“T-shirts may get thinner,“ said Chris Callieri, principal with A.T. Kearney’s retail and consumer practice. Callieri said some of his clients are playing around with the “density“ of cotton fabric, to see how they can use less of it. “But you have to be careful with that approach so that it doesn’t affect the quality of the garment,“ he said. Get the full story »
Cotton prices are at their highest in the 140 years the commodity has traded on an exchange, as heavy Chinese buying and poor harvests are expected to keep global supplies tight.
The ICE December cotton contract hit $1.1980 a pound minutes after trading opened, eclipsing the previous record high set in 1995 by more than 2 cents. Get the full story »
