U.S. Cotton & the Golden Triangle of Spinning Profitability in Bangladesh Expect to Purchase an Additional $151 Million of U.S. Cotton
Participants who attended Cotton Council International’s (CCI) Golden Triangle Event: U.S. Cotton & The Golden Triangle of Spinning Profitability in Bangladesh in March of 2022 expect to purchase an additional 266,000 additional bales of U.S. cotton, valued at $151 million.
The Golden Triangle Event is a new initiative by CCI to educate and influence the many decision-makers who are ultimately responsible for a spinning mill’s fiber purchases. This includes the mill owner, who is often worried about making money and believes buying the lowest priced cotton will lead to higher profits, the cotton buyer, who is encouraged to save money by buying the least expensive cotton which leads to processing and quality problems in the factory, and the mill manager, who is responsible for taking raw cotton and transforming it into finished products. This final group needs consistent quality inputs to produce consistent quality outputs and usually prefer U.S. cotton but has previously not been heavily involved in the decision-making process. The Golden Triangle Event aims to get all three of these groups aligned and to understand the benefit and value U.S. cotton provides for the mill.
Eighty-eight spinning mills, with representatives from all three decision making groups, attended the Golden Triangle Event in Bangladesh. The content encouraged the audience to change their mindsets surrounding the cost of raw cotton. Instead of seeking the least expensive option, mills should take a more holistic view to understand the true cost of production. This includes not only the raw cotton, but the labor, energy, waste, and other factors that go into creating finished products. Only then, can they make an informed comparison between U.S. cotton and cotton of other growths. This was supported by presentations from COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ mill experts, who through research and practical examples can demonstrate that using U.S. cotton, even when priced higher than other cotton alternatives, actually increases profitability by reducing waste and inefficiency.
The second part of the Golden Triangle Event included presentations from U.S. cotton industry leaders on issues that impact global trade and the flow of U.S. cotton to the participating mills. This issue is particularly relevant for spinning mills in Bangladesh due to the lack of direct shipping routes between the U.S. and Bangladesh, which often causes long shipping times and delays and is a barrier to purchasing U.S. cotton. The event allowed participants, especially mill owners, to voice their concerns and begin a dialogue on how to address the issue directly with the U.S. cotton industry.
In post-event surveys, 100% of the participants said they were satisfied with the event overall and were likely to recommend future Golden Triangle Events to their colleagues. As a result of attending, 77% of the participants said they were likely to purchase U.S. cotton. Eighty-four of the eighty-eight companies (95%) also indicated they would be interested in scheduling a further consultation from a COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ mill expert to learn more about the advantages U.S. cotton can provide for their company.
