A seven-member Cotton USA executive delegation recently travelled with Cotton Council International (CCI) to Mumbai, Coimbatore, and New Delhi in India, to participate in conferences emphasising US cotton’s quality to Indian textile mill leadership and conduct meetings with key mill partners. CCI is the global marketing arm of the US cotton industry.

More than 150 participants representing 37 textile mills, nine US cotton merchants, eight brands and retailers, and five apparel manufacturers, attended the conferences in India. Among the participants, 40 per cent were first-time attendees. The participating mills’ total cotton usage in 2017 was more than 6.5 million bales, which account for more than 25 per cent of cotton mill use in India.

Seventeen Cotton USA licensee mills participated, which bought more than 300,000 bales of US cotton in 2017.

The Cotton USA conference encouraged the participants to ‘Take a Closer Look at US Cotton’ and engage in active dialogue to share their experiences with using US cotton fibre in their mills.

The executive delegation participants presented the quality, sustainability, transparency and premium value of US cotton to show how US cotton can help textile mills increase value in their businesses. The delegation also gave a brief on world cotton production, as well as supply and demand.

The conferences also included business sessions where the industry leaders came together to discuss the dynamics of cotton sourcing and building sustainable supply chains in the textile Industry. The delegation also visited a Cotton USA brand and retail partner store in Mumbai and a Cotton USA licensee mill in South India.

The 2018 Cotton USA executive delegation participants include Raymond Faus, chairman, American Cotton Shippers Association; Marc Lewkowitz, president and CEO, Supima; John Lindamood, Tennessee State chairman, American Cotton Producers; Steve Wilbur, Board of Directors, Cotton Incorporated; Tim North, vice chairman, American Cotton Shippers Association; Tim Barry, vice president, ICE Futures U.S.; Carlos Garcia, AMCOT; and William Bettendorf, director of South and Southeast Asia, CCI.