The COTTON USA Fiber Education Tour brought 12 Japanese textile executives to the U.S. to inform them of the benefits of U.S. cotton fiber in finished apparel.
Companies represented on the tour, including top retailers and trading companies in Japan such as Uniqlo Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp, have a combined turnover of $17.7 billion for textiles.
This was CCI and Cotton Incorporated's second year to bring Japanese retailers and trading companies to the U.S. Cotton Belt to heighten their awareness of U.S. cotton.
Retailers on this trip have outlets spanning China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Around 89 percent of finished cotton products purchased by Japanese consumers are imported, primarily manufactured in China.
Cotton Council International