Cheap T-Shirts Getting Harder to Find With Rising Cotton Prices

Tuesday 05th of October 2010 02:01:22 AM

Cheap T-Shirts Getting Harder to Find With Rising Cotton Prices

Cotton prices are going up! Cotton used to be the textile that was the most inexpensive and cotton clothes were once cheaper than clothes made out of polyester or cotton/polyester blends. But with rising labor costs even in under-developed countries the price of cotton just keeps rising which leads to higher priced clothing.

Cheap t-shirts are still available but it takes some savvy online shopping.

So how high are cotton prices going and how much will trickle down to consumers? The wet weather in India has caused delayed harvesting this year. There is also a problem with cotton quality due to the wet weather. As a result, cotton prices actually hit a 15-year high as Indian exports declined. Some people may not know that India is the world’s second largest producer of cotton and this crop is a mainstay of India’s economy. But this year the cotton harvest has hit a 16-year low. The price of cotton futures rose to 94 US cents a pound in September 2010.

The chief cotton analyst at First Capitol Group in Atlanta is Sharon Johnson. She said that the cotton mills are trying to “buy some time…until the weather clears out, harvest gains steam, and the situation resolves itself once cotton is moving more freely.” (WSJ, Sept 16, 2010) China has also experienced unusually wet weather leading to cotton quality problems.

The high cotton prices are trickling down to retail clothing prices. Though the recession has led to amazing clothing deals in the stores, the price of cotton has created a situation where cotton clothing prices are rising. How high will cotton go? The current estimate is that it will hit a $1 per bale, but no one knows for sure. A lot depends on the weather.

The best way to get cheap cotton clothing prices is to shop online. Online white t-shirts can still be bought for incredibly low prices.