Cotton Egypt Association (CEA), the non-profit which supports the Egyptian Cotton brand, has launched an initiative that will work to “actively root out” counterfeiters in the textile industry and will name and shame the manufacturers found to be falsely advertising stock under the brand name.
COTTON Egypt Association, the organisation behind Egyptian Cotton™, has launched a further initiative to actively root out non-genuine goods from the supply chain.
The organization has begun naming and shaming manufacturers who fail their rigorous accreditation scheme through a new ‘Black List’ on their website.
They are also set to launch a worldwide task force of secret shoppers who will purchase products marked as Egyptian Cotton from retailers both instore and online, which will then be passed along for testing.
Trade and Industry Minister TareK Kabil commented that a committee will be set up to approve and follow up the implementation of the marketing plan. He added that a special unit will be formed to ensure the optimal use of the brand and to sign deals with international textile companies on that score under the agreement.
Major retailers are backing the Cotton Egypt Association’s drive to rid the supply chain of falsely labelled Egyptian Cotton goods. John Lewis and Dunelm, have spoken in support of CEA’s new rigorous accreditation process and ability to DNA test products, and say they will continue to insist suppliers adhere to the new standard. Manufacturers who do not meet the new criteria will no longer be licensed to produce Egyptian Cotton products or use the trademarked logo, the association explains.
When asked which brand they would pay a premium for, 61% said Egyptian Cotton, which respondents also named as their preferred option for towels and bedding at the survey, commissioned by the Cotton Egypt Association, which was conducted by the independent custom research arm of Progressive Business Media, HTT’s parent company. When consumers were asked to arrange a list of cotton brands in order of perceived quality 89% placed Egyptian Cotton as one of their top two choices.
Egypt’s cotton exports jumped by 63.9% during the first quarter of the planting season of 2016/2017, in the period from September to November cotton exports were 202,500 bales compared to 123,600 bales in the same period a year earlier, according to the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
The country’s farmers and exporters said that Egypt’s famed cotton industry is starting to revive following a Central Bank decision to float the pound last November and a crackdown on false Egyptian cotton worldwide.
The Mumbai-based textile company, Welspun India has entered into a co-operation agreement with Cotton Egypt Association (CEA) to promote and market Egyptian cotton products worldwide. Under the agreement, the two organisations will work together to create programmes for promotion of Egyptian Cotton logo in the retail markets across the globe.
