Cotton Prices Keep Rising

Thursday 21st of April 2011 11:59:14 PM

Cotton Prices Keep Rising

Don’t be surprised if the cost of your favorite cotton clothing goes up because that is exactly what cotton prices and labor costs are doing around the worlds. In fact, cotton prices are up 15 percent this year compared to last year. Shoppers can expect an inevitable increase in retail prices as a result though it may not be the full 15 percent. Instead, clothing retailers are working diligently to find ways to offset the increasing cotton prices.

It may not seem like it, but average clothing prices have been steadily falling over the last 2 decades. That’s one reason you can find such stunningly cheap t-shirts and other clothing online. Not only do you get the benefit of falling manufacturing costs, but online retailers have less overhead to cover. Unfortunately some clothing prices are getting ready to go up and there is going to be some consumer sticker shock. During the recession the price of clothing has been so low that it’s been hard to believe, but some of those prices were set arbitrarily low in order to keep consumers shopping during difficult economic times.

Since clothing prices have not been experiencing inflation for so many years, it makes retailers nervous when considering raising prices. The reason? No one is sure how consumers will respond due to a lack of data. Just as the economy is improving, there is a fear that sales will decline due to price increases.

The current plans are to raise clothing prices but not by the full amount of inflation in the garment industry. Price increases will be implemented slowly to test the waters and see how consumers respond. The best advice you can take is to buy what you need right now in durable everyday clothing like tees and sweats. In that way, you can take a wait-and-see approach.