#Raw Materials

2022-09-29

Cotton Council International celebrates its third Cotton Day in Mumbai

Cotton Council International (CCI), along with the leadership of the U.S. cotton industry, held its annual Cotton Day in Mumbai, India, educating over 120 attendees on how U.S. cotton adds value for its partners in the Indian textile industry. This year’s event, held both virtual and in-person, featured the theme “Your Partner for Prosperity”, bringing a fresh perspective from leading industry experts on how U.S. cotton connects the textile community and is a trusted partner in the textile supply chain.

Focus on partnerships for industry growth

“Accountability and transparency are integral to the U.S. cotton industry’s values,” William Bettendorf, Director, COTTON USA Supply Chain & South Asia, CCI, said. “Both brands and consumers today are increasingly becoming more responsible in their sourcing strategies. Sustainability and transparency are the top priorities in our industry, and with a collaborative approach, we aim to add value for our partners.”

India is an important market for U.S. cotton; India’s forecast for cotton production shows an upward trend, with around 27.5 million bales (at a 480-pound bale size) in 2022-23 as compared to last year’s total of 24.5 million bales. India’s mill consumption accounts for 21% of world’s consumption.

Peush Narang, CCI Country Representative-India and Sri Lanka, added, “The Indian textile industry is one of the largest industries in the country and has witnessed phenomenal growth in the last two decades in terms of installed spindles and yarn production. Technology-wise, the Indian spinning industry has been able to keep pace with the international technology trends. Cotton has been the growth engine for Indian textile industry, and India has become one of the largest consumers of cotton, with about 22% of the world’s cotton consumption.”

Cotton Day India 2022 featured eminent speakers and panelists from the U.S. Embassy, CCI, and cotton industry experts from the U.S. and UK, along with allied companies that support the industry with traceability solutions.

The event included insightful sessions on what the industry can do together to encourage partnerships and collaborative approaches for growth and prosperity. The event had sessions about the recent global cotton scenario, an update on Indian cotton, risk management, the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol® and how sustainability and transparency are defining future global supply chains. It also included the latest CCI updates and industry guidelines on how Indian textile mills could adopt COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ best practices to help increase profitability.

Marc Lewkowitz, President & CEO of Supima, shared key updates on the Supima licensing program. Jane Singer, managing director of Inside Fashion, also spoke about trends in the global fashion industry.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

AMSilk and Ajinomoto Foods Europe expand partnership to enable industrial-scale production of silk proteins

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a global leader leader in biotech produced silk materials, today announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Ajinomoto Foods Europe (AFE), marking a key step in scaling the industrial production of its silk proteins. Building on the collaboration first established in 2023, the two companies have now entered into a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement, enabling the transition from industrial validation to dedicated, large-scale production.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.