Daniza Tinagan

TIME

April 4, 2011

COMMODITIES

Cotton Crunch. Why the fabric of our lives is costing us

            Who knew bad weather in China, India, and Pakistan could make Gap T-shirts more expensive? Thanks to spoiled crops and rising post-recession on demand for clothing and linens, cotton prices are soaring. From August 2010 to February '11, prices jumped 137%, from 90₵ ($2 per kg) to $2.13 per lb. ($4.73 per kg). Retailers like Aeropostale, which forecast lower-than-expected earnings because of rising cotton prices, and hotel chains like Best Western, which have seen the cost of bedsheets jump 61% since last year, will have lower margins or pass along the cost to consumers. Cotton is even driving up the price of money. U.S. bills, which are 75% cotton, cost 9.6₵ each to produce in 2010, a 50% jump since 2008. The Government Accountability Office recommends replacing the dollar bill with a $1 coin, which could save the U.S. $5.5 billion over 30 years. Ka-ching! - SEAN GREGORY 

            I was flipping through the pages of an old issue of Time magazine at home, when I bumped into this article. When I saw the word Gap, I knew I had to read it. Just recently, my younger brother and I bought something office-appropriate  as a birthday present for our just-graduated-and-now-working brother. Because my younger brother is so meticulous, we ended up at a Gap store buying a long-sleeved, navy blue, button down shirt which almost cost us Php 2,200.00-ish (expensive!). After reading the article, I figured that bad weather in China, India, and Pakistan could have caused the high price. These countries are the top cotton producing countries in the world with China topping the list, followed by the United States, India, Pakistan and the list goes on. Please, they can't have bad weather - so many adverse effects! It's disappointing to think that this 'bad weather' is not in our hands - we can't control it, not to mention the many different environmental issues, catastrophes, and the like. Also, I figured how greatly a soft fluffy thing can affect even the big great America. Only after reading the article I discovered that U.S. bills are actually 75% cotton. With all these bad weather, spoiled crops, and rising post-recession on demand for clothes and linen, the U.S. will surely have to pay a lot just to make them dollar bills. So, let's all not be surprised if one day dollar bills become dollar coins - we know why.

So cute, soft and fluffy, yet so powerful! Ironic :)

Just some additional thoughts:

                I was able to search that cotton grows best in tropical and subtropical countries. This means, our country is capable of growing such. I really do not know how everything works, but gifted with vast farmlands and conducive environment, why won't the Philippines try to grow or produce more cotton that we usually do? I know our country can be part of the 'top cotton producing countries in the world' list somehow (or I'm just being really optimistic here, hehe). Knowing that there's this great demand for clothes and linen out there.. sounds like a pretty good opportunity here guys!