Latin American consumers uninformed about cotton, claims ICAC
The Latin American cotton market is showing impressive growth, according to a presentation given at the 72nd plenary meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in Cartagena, Colombia.
Titled ‘Promotion Strategies to Effectively Meet the Challenges to Cotton Sustainability’, speaker director of supply chain marketing in Latin America for Cotton Incorporated Jaime Flores welcomed this growth but warned that consumer awareness needs to become a key focus.
"We see a population that's changing, with important growth in young consumers who are eager to buy. They're more aware of fashion and they buy more impulsively.
"We need to give consumers the ability to make informed decisions when it comes to buying cotton products, and we need to give retailers options so cotton can be a player in the marketplace.”
He explained that many retailers were under the impression that cotton should be used for very basic items and that it could not feature heavily in fashion collections.
"Consumers and retailers, to some extent, don't have a very good understanding of cotton's performance capabilities, especially compared with manmade fibres," said Mr Flores.
"One example is cotton clothing that provides moisture management capabilities. It's a feature that consumers consider very valuable in their clothing, especially athletic apparel, but they don't always know cotton is capable of providing it.
"Raising that level of awareness is a crucial step in the long-term success of cotton, not only in Latin America but around the world."
