In an era of price deflation and tightening in the global supply chain, one way to continue to differentiate products and potentially increase margins is to meet consumers’ demand for all-cotton home textiles. Almost two thirds (63%) of women say that cotton is their most preferred fiber, and over half (58%) say they are willing to pay more for 100% cotton when shopping for home textiles, according to research from Cotton Incorporated’s Home Textiles Study.

Even thrifty shoppers will pay more for 100% cotton Source: Cotton Incorporated’s Home Textiles Study, 2006.

Women who prefer cotton spend more on home textiles Source: Cotton Incorporated’s Home Textiles Study, 2006.

The importance of all-cotton home textiles has increased among consumers over the past several years. Comparing responses in 2006 with those in 2002, the percentage of women saying it is important that their home products are made of 100% cotton reached highs of 92% for towels (up 4 percentage points), 89% for sheets (up 3 points), and 83% for bedding (up 10 points). The percentage of women saying they look for cotton products when shopping for their children’s bedding also increased 6 points, to 71%. Cotton’s importance among female consumers can be directly linked to the features that most look for in home textiles, such as softness, ease of care, and absorbency in bath towels.

The more important finding for manufacturers, retailers, and brands is that in a price-driven retail market, the majority of women say they are willing to pay more for 100% cotton towels (69%), sheets (60%), and bedding (51%). The groups most likely to say they would spend more for 100% cotton in these three product categories (averaged together) were women aged 45 to 54 (63%) and department-store shoppers (70%). Nonetheless, even the most money-conscious consumers are not willing to sacrifice the benefits of cotton for a lower price. Those willing to pay more for all-cotton products included 52% of mass-merchant shoppers and 42% of women whose main concern when buying home textiles is price. These findings indicate that offering consumers all-cotton choices could be one way to overcome the price motivator that drives many shoppers.

More consumers are willing to pay a premium for 100% cotton (Percent responding in 2002 & 2006)
Source: Cotton Incorporated’s Home Textiles Study, 2002   2006.