By Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar

Professor Eric Hequet, an internationally renowned fiber quality expert at Texas Tech University, has some useful advice that may benefit the global textile industry.

Cotton, a natural material, is pre-sold on comfort and continually faces competition from other fibers. Hequet – a cotton breeder with 38 years of experience – insists that the industry should be concentrating its focus on quality, providing maximum information on fiber quality, and developing new products and markets.  

“If the end-users such as spinners could know what they are buying in terms of cotton, it is a big plus,” stated Hequet.

The United States cotton industry has been a leader in providing maximum information on a bale of cotton, and other leading producers such as Brazil and India have started paying attention to also providing information. As long as fiber quality evaluation is handled by a reliable independent agency such as the USDA classing offices, the data’s credibility will be well accepted. Brands are demanding more source information to stay competitive and gain consumer acceptance, making data dissemination necessary.

Stakeholders’ contribution to the growth of the industry is vital for not only the cotton sector, but also for all sectors. Stakeholders need to support “mission-linked” research to enhance market share and use-value.

Regarding what’s next for the industry, Hequet says that improving fiber length uniformity, strength and finding new applications should be the goal. He highlighted the growing interest in vortex spinning, which necessitates improvements in length and strength. The surface structure of these yarns is on par with ring spun yarns, but the internal structure is weak. Therefore, fiber strength improvement to 40-42 grams/tex will help.

Labor costs are also rising even in some eastern countries, making ring spinning expensive. The cotton sector can help by breeding fibers that will suit newer spinning technologies.

Hequet believes the goal for the industry in the next five years should focus on drought resistance and water efficiency without sacrificing fiber quality. As the global population continues to rise, maintaining cotton’s global market share at 30% will enable more use of cotton based on consumption.

The biodegradability aspect must be effectively handled by the industry, both for developing new biomaterials and for marketing. For the past few years, I have advocated focusing our attention beyond yield and quality to creating new value-added products – an aspect that Professor Hequet clearly agrees with. As he noted, cotton is here to stay.

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar is a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology and The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University, and a frequent contributor to Cotton Grower.