#Raw Materials

2020-01-29

ICAC combines three reports into one massive, annual ‘Cotton Data Book’

Over the past 30 years, the technical information section of the ICAC has been publishing three major triennial reports: ‘Cotton Production Practices’, ‘Cost of Production of Raw Cotton’, and ‘Structure of Cotton Research, Input Supply & Transfer of Technology’.

Is an annual compilation of three reports that had previously been published once every three years

Will be published in December of each year

Sells for $250 less than the three reports combined sold separately in prior years

For the first time, those three publications have been compiled into a massive new cotton industry resource, ‘The 2020 Cotton Data Book.’ The 224-page digital book provides detailed data on the cotton industries of the top 38 countries and features more than 40 charts, tables and graphs to help illustrate the information.

Given the industry’s urgent need for up-to-date cotton data and statistics, the ICAC decided not only to combine the reports but to publish the information every year rather than once every three years. The Cotton Data Book will be released annually during the ICAC Plenary Meeting.

‘In this Internet age of rapid information sourcing, there is a great hunger for numbers — and data reports get outdated pretty fast’, said Dr Keshav Kranthi, Head of the ICAC’s Technical Information Section and primary author of the publication. ‘This is the main reason why the ICAC decided to merge all three triennial reports into one annual report’.

The new digital publication will not only provide more timely information but also offer significant cost savings. The 2020 ICAC Cotton Data Book is being sold for $500, representing a $250 savings over the cost of the three formerly triennial reports.

The Table of Contents for the Cotton Data Book can be found here.

To purchase a copy of the 2020 ICAC Cotton Data Book, please visit:

https://www.icac.org

Organic cotton at the crossroads: Ideology, evidence, and the road ahead

Organic cotton occupies one of the most contentious spaces in global agriculture. While praised by brands and consumers for its environmental ideals, it also faces persistent questions about yield stability, certification integrity, and scalability. The current edition of The ICAC Recorder cuts through the ideology to deliver a rigorous, evidence-based assessment of both sides of the debate.

Dr N Vigneshwaran is named 2026 ICAC Researcher of the Year

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is pleased to announce the selection of Dr N Vigneshwaran, Principal Scientist and Head of the Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division at the ICAR–Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (ICAR-CIRCOT), Mumbai, India, as the ICAC Researcher of the Year 2026.

AMSilk and Ajinomoto Foods Europe expand partnership to enable industrial-scale production of silk proteins

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a global leader leader in biotech produced silk materials, today announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Ajinomoto Foods Europe (AFE), marking a key step in scaling the industrial production of its silk proteins. Building on the collaboration first established in 2023, the two companies have now entered into a long-term manufacturing and supply agreement, enabling the transition from industrial validation to dedicated, large-scale production.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Bremen Cotton Exchange: Fritz A. Grobien re-elected as President

The members of the Bremen Cotton Exchange have re-elected Fritz A. Grobien as President during the association’s 152nd General Assembly on June 18, 2026. The election confirms the organization’s commitment to maintaining its role as a leading international platform for the cotton and fiber industry amid a period of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.