Discussion on sustainable cotton at Kingpins New York

Cotton growers in cowboy hats are not the typical type of speakers that one would expect to see at a fashion industry event in New York City, but this is not typical haute couture fashion show. The Kingpins Show, produced by textile and apparel company Olah Inc. brings together a diverse group of people tied together by the thread of cotton.

Players from a selection of vendors that include denim and sportswear fabric mills from the U.S., Japan, China, India, Morocco, Mexico and Europe, wash houses, manufacturers, trim providers and even a few cotton growers will be gathering at Kingpins New York to see the latest trends in denim and hear experts discuss sustainable cotton.

Alan Ayers, director of stakeholder relations/stewardship at Bayer CropScience, will represent the agriculture industry perspective in the Cotton Conference session during Kingpins on Wednesday, July 25. A panel discussion moderated by Jeffrey Silberman, Professor, Chairperson Textile Development and Marketing at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and Andrew Olah, CEO of Olah, Inc. will discuss whether cotton can actually BE sustainable. Additional panelists include:

• Anne Gillespie – The Textile Exchange
• J. Berrye Worsham – Cotton, Inc.
• Dr. Keith Edmisten – North Carolina State University
• Eddie Adams, Cotton grower/owner, farm service & supply company

“Bayer CropScience is honored to have a seat at the table with the denim and cotton manufacturing industry,” says Alan Ayers. “We feel strongly that advances in technology and ideas such as Bayer’s sustainable cotton initiative are allowing cotton growers to be more sustainable than ever, and Bayer is proud to be a part of this discussion at Kingpins.”

In 2010, Bayer CropScience and Olah Inc. signed a licensing agreement to use the Bayer CropScience cotton brand names FiberMax and Stoneville. Under this ten-year agreement, Olah was granted an exclusive license to develop and market the two brands for apparel and home furnishings. As a result of this agreement, consumers will soon be able to purchase cotton garments or home furnishing goods labeled as manufactured with FiberMax or Stoneville cotton.

This branding approach will benefit consumers in two major ways. Firstly, consumers will know immediately that the fabrics have been manufactured from high-quality cotton fiber. Secondly, FiberMax and Stoneville goods will be identified with cotton growers from different areas, answering the consumer’s growing desire for information about the origin of the products they buy.

Kingpins started with a single show in 2004 and it has grown ever since. There are now nine Kingpins shows hosted globally in cities such as Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York and Shanghai. The shows are invitation-only events offering participants a unique opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with the best brands in the denim and sportswear fashion industry.

Bayer CropScience