As is always the case with a natural product such as cotton, there are important times during the growing season that will determine the outcome of the crop. In many areas of the country, the blooms are on the plant, meaning that the cotton boll will soon appear. Some areas of the US are still looking for timely rainfall, while others only want good heat from the sun and very little rain. Clearly, the weather is out of our control, so let’s break down what the US crop is looking like as some areas of the country, such as the Corpus Christi area of Texas, are beginning the harvest, picking, ginning, and classing their cotton. Continue reading →

How Will Tariffs Affect Cotton Worldwide?

In a recent piece for Cotton Incorporated, senior economist Jon Devine outlined the current supply and demand factors for the global cotton trade, defining qualities of multi-year markets.

Devine correctly notes that any discussion of the global cotton market, with regard to supply and demand, must start with China. China annually consumes 15 million more bales than the country’s cotton farmers produce, and while the government has bought extensive reserves in past years to make good on guaranteed price promises for Chinese farmers, demand for high-quality product for certain applications, such as American cotton, remains high. Continue reading →

New Codes for Plastic found in Cotton Samples

Plastic contamination in US-grown cotton is a significant issue throughout the supply chain, and the USDA has taken an initial step aimed at addressing this problem. The agency is implementing a new pair of extraneous matter codes for levels of plastic contaminants found in cotton samples.  The USDA’s AMS Cotton and Tobacco Program is now enforcing codes 71 and 72 (as of July 1) as identifiers of plastic contamination, in line with other codes for seed (coat fragments), bark, grass, oil, and other materials. Continue reading →

Barnhardt Cotton recently participated in the World of Wipes Conference in Chicago, an annual production of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), taking in some interesting data and analysis on the nonwovens industry in North Carolina. Continue reading →

As part of an unprecedented crackdown on pollution from its manufacturing sector, the Chinese government has shut down nearly 40 percent of its manufacturing facilities nationwide, with a heavy impact on the textiles industry.

The pollution reduction program, initiated in 2016, has applied fines and criminal charges, as well as shutdown orders, to more than 80,000 factories across 30 provinces on the Chinese mainland. Entire towns and regions have seen their factories hobbled, as inspectors turn off fuel and electricity supplies during inspections. Continue reading →