COTTON USA has signed two new licensees in Western Europe, I Cotoni di Albini and Bugatti. Cotton Council International (CCI), the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America (NCC), is a non-profit trade association that promotes US cotton fibre and cotton products. The Cotton USA licenses cover the equivalent of 2,088 bales of US cotton.

I Cotoni di Albini, a company of the Albini group, specialises in the production of high-end yarns. Thanks to its partnership with Cotton USA, Supima, and Oritain, I Cotoni di Albini can offer 100 per cent traceable US cotton. Created in 1876 in Italy, the Albini group’s ambition is to create the most beautiful fabrics in the world. Textile know-how, Italian creativity, and continuous research are the distinctive features of the Albini group, according to a press release by CCI.

Bugatti, a German internationally successful, mid-market men’s, and women’s brand, is licensed for a line of US cotton-rich men trousers. Established in 1947 as a family business, the company is now run by the second and third generation of the family and employs more than 1,000 people in Germany. In 2019, the company generated sales of $250 million and its export share is 44 percent. The group’s main export countries are Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Russia. Bugatti has 327 points-of-sale in Germany and 600 in its export markets