LUBBOCK, Texas–The amount of organic cotton grown throughout the world during the 2007-2008 growing season jumped 152 percent over the 2006-2007 season, according to a report from the Organic Exchange.
Titled the “Organic Cotton Farm and Fiber Report 2008,” the report said organic cotton production reached 160,796 tons, grown on 397,840 acres in 22 countries. The report attributed the increase to heightened demand for organic cotton from retailers around the globe. According to another publication of the Organic Exchange, the “Organic Exchange Organic Cotton Market Report 2007,” the total organic-cotton market topped $1 billion in 2006; data on the 2007 market will be available soon, the Organic Exchange said in a statement.
U.S. manufacturers of home textiles have introduced a number of products using organic cotton during the New York Home Fashions markets in both February and September of this year. Simon Ferrigno, farm development program director for the Organic Exchange, said, “With forward contracts, price security, and increased research and education, the amount of organic-cotton production will continue to increase rapidly.”