Designers, consumers choose cotton for price, versatility, comfort

As trends change and fashions evolve, cotton remains in the spotlight.

"Cotton is America's fabric," said Rachel Anderson, instructor in the Texas Tech University Apparel Design and Manufacturing program. "I think it's everyone's go-to fabric. It's comfortable. It's versatile. It's not an expensive fabric to purchase. It's available to all levels of price points.

"People have grown up with cotton pretty much their whole lives, especially in West Texas. We're very used to wearing a lot of cotton products and buying a lot of cotton products."

Designers and consumers alike turn to cotton for fashion, Anderson said.

Designers

Designers choose the fabric because of its versatility. It comes in any weight the designer desires: light and airy for warmer seasons, or heavier for colder seasons.

The fabric takes dye well, so designers can create bright colors with it, she said. It's easy to work with. It also can be blended with other fabrics for versatility or to create a wrinkle-free look.

"The most popular is, of course, cotton mixed with Lycra or spandex to allow for stretch. Our jeans is the best example," Anderson said. "Then as far as high fashion goes, bonded cottons are huge. There are different finishes on jeans to simulate leather, to simulate a reptile skin. They are all being applied to cotton fabrics. These are treatments that can actually make cotton look like leather, look like reptile skin, but it's actually cotton."

Retailers

Stephanie Massengale, owner of retailer The Matador, said cotton is one of the store's best sellers. Variety and low prices play a part in the popularity, she said.

The store has been getting various blends of cotton, Massengale said. Ring-spun cotton is a softer variety.

"(Cotton) comes in so many different colors, and so many different products," she said. "In our store we have a high-end products. They're super soft. You want to sleep in them like (pajamas). Then there's the standard cotton T-shirt. These days T-shirts come pre-shrunk so you don't have as many issues with shrinking as you did before."

Retailers see cotton as a great fabric for decorating, too, Massengale explained. Cotton T-shirts can be enhanced with glitter ink or metallic foil. A popular choice this season is the burnout tee, which is made of a thin cotton fabric that is partially see-through and worn over a colored tank top.

Competition

Clothing brands that offer moisture-wicking fabrics, such as Under Armour, have grown popular for workout attire, Massengale said. Her store's cotton inventory keeps up with that of the popular moisture-wicking products.

"We have maybe not half and half, but it's still up there," she said. "Under Armour is not pushing cotton out of the way."

Shirts with name brands such as Under Armour are more expensive than other cotton T-shirts, she added.

Instructor of in Texas Tech's Retail Management program, Valerie Hlavaty said after years of competing with cotton, Under Armour recently developed a cotton-based moisture-wicking product. The company trademarked the line, "Charged Cotton."

Consumers choose the moisture-wicking products because it dries quickly and keeps them cool. They don't see perspiration on their polos when they play a game golf, or on their T-shirt when they go for a run, she said.

By incorporating synthetic material with cotton, the fabric will have more comfort and dry even faster than before, Hlavaty said.

"(Under Armour's) slogan was, 'Cotton is the enemy,'" she explained. "Now they realize they wanted to make a change. Cotton is really going to make a difference in their sales for this season."

Hlavaty said Cotton Incorporated plays an important role in marketing the fabric to the nation. The program features celebrities in its commercials, which have the slogan "The fabric of our lives."

According to its website, Cotton Incorporated is funded by U.S. growers of upland cotton and importers of cotton and cotton textile products and is the research and marketing company representing upland cotton. The program is designed and operated to improve the demand for and profitability of cotton.

"Their promotion throughout the United States is to get people to purchase cotton," Hlavaty said. "... It does a lot of help in educating the United States consumers and keeping it out there. We really rely on Cotton Inc. a lot."

Consumers

Designers and retailers also choose cotton because it's a big seller.

Anderson said consumers buy denim and cotton knits made of the fabric because of its comfort and its ability to breathe. There also is a factor of familiarity.

"People know cotton. They've grown up with," she said. "I think people really always want to go back to it."

Cotton isn't only for day wear, Anderson added.

Recently, Apparel Manufacturing and Design student Jocelin Villareal designed a long cotton cocktail dress that won an award in the Little Red Dress Competition at the 2012 Fashion Group International Dallas Career Day Design Competition.

"You see it in bridal more often, because when women do a destination wedding, they often want a cotton or linen dress to wear on the beach, because obviously a formal gown is not going to really be practical," Anderson said. "... I think in Texas and places where it's hot, women are starting to get more used to cotton for cocktail dresses or cocktail events."

Although cotton plays a part in the Lubbock community and economy, Hlavaty said cotton's popularity is not confined to Lubbock's region or the region where cotton is grown.

"It is a staple item of our time and our society because of the comfort and beautiful fabric," she said, "the way it takes dye so well and also the breathability of it."

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