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 In the last release of [Content]™ we solicited feedback from you on the following question: “What’s the Most Important Topic Relative to the Home Textiles Industry?” with the four response choices of Thread Count, Functional Finishes, Flammability and Organic Cotton. Your responses, while interesting, were not all that surprising.
- Coming in as most important topic at 48% in our survey, and the one we expected, was Thread Count. If your responses are indicative of the opinions we’ve heard from many of you, you’re all wondering what can be done to get out of the thread count game, especially in light of the recent announcement by the Federal Trade Commission on clarification of appropriate thread count labeling and advertising practices.*
- There seems to be a growing buzz surrounding Functional Finishes in the home textiles industry. The groundswell of support for application of some new property to cotton products that can add value and improve a product’s functionality is gaining speed. Currently at 29% in our poll, expect this number to increase as consumers’ expectations grow.
- Even though Flammability is on everyone’s radar screen, the threat this topic poses is not imminent – at least not yet. Although 14% of you thought this topic was important, test protocols and regulations are nowhere near completion so no one knows how much attention to pay to this topic yet. Expect this topic to get a lot more attention as new state and federal regulations are determined.
- And the least important topic in our survey was Organic Cotton. We all keep hearing more and more about it, but only 9% of you consider it an important industry topic. Consumer research by Cotton Incorporated and the Organic Trade Association indicated that consumers are interested in the term Organic when it pertains to food items, but the term has very little resonance in the minds of consumers when purchasing apparel or home products.
Anyone see the August issue of Consumer Reports® which featured a review of Thread Count?** They’re weighing in on the matter now and letting consumers know they shouldn’t waste their money on higher and often misleading thread counts. Their summary: "Paying more for higher thread count is wasting money."1
In this issue we introduce a new technology for sheeting and bedding that answers the question of what can be done to focus attention on something other than thread count. endure™ is Cotton Incorporated’s response. Read about endure™ in the accompanying article on the main [Content]™ webpage. We think you’ll agree that our new technology development will bring a new level of performance to cotton home textile products that will offer a different criteria by which consumers judge the quality of sheets and bedding products, not solely based on thread count.
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