Welcome to the August 23, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.
The Main Reason Polyester is Killing Us
Cotton Industry Needs to Plant a New Seed
By Kara Bishop
Holiday Happening is an event put on by the Junior League of lubbock every year in November. My mom and sister and I have attended the event for over 10 years. All the trendy boutiques are there selling the latest fashion finds, toys, gadgets, etc. It was my first Holiday Happening event that introduced me to Barefoot Dreams.
Every boutique had an item from Barefoot Dreams. When I first discovered them a decade ago, they had the softest blankets, coziest pajamas and hands-down best socks, according to every store owner and customer at Holliday Happening. The CozyChic line of luxuriously soft lounge wear was selected as an “Oprah’s Pick,” which was and still is a huge deal for a business owner.
From what I remember and can find online, the founder of Barefoot Dreams was looking for buttery soft blankets and clothes for her babies, and, in the 90s, there wasn’t much to choose from. She founded her own company to provide the cozy feel of staying in and loving your babies, which has evolved into a multi-million-dollar brand that has something for everyone.
Barefoot Dreams owns the young female market, while also taking large ownership of the mothers of these young females, too. The moms want the latest fashion for their girls and then discover that they also enjoy the products. Influencers with millions of followers love Barefoot Dreams and offer their products in giveaways and paid partnerships. A Barefoot Dreams blanket was seen used by Khloe Kardashian on the hit TV-show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” These blankets consistently sell out during the Nordstrom’s
Anniversary Sale, and they’re not cheap with their $180 price tag.
The fabric lines that they’ve created are a marketer’s dream. All targeted toward people who desire comfortable clothes. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, the work-from-home athleisure market exploded, funneling more and more consumers into Barefoot Dreams’ cozy, soft space.
CozyChic was their first and bestselling fabric line. And it’s 100% polyester microfiber.
In a New York Times article published in 2021, Deborah Young, a textile historian and professor at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, referred to Barefoot Dreams fabric as, “…not your father’s polyester. Microfiber is incredibly fine, like silk. We never managed to imitate silk chemically, but ultimately came closer by making one finer than silk.”
The rest of Barefoot Dreams’ fabric lines and types are the following (in order of how they are listed on the website):
- CozyChic Lite: nylon/rayon (from bamboo)
- Cozychic Ultra Lite: nylon/viscose
- Luxe Milk Jersey: modal/spandex/acrylic
- Malibu collection: washable knits (includes some cotton)
- Sunbleached Cotton (There is a link to shop on each fabric they list, but it’s broken or no items exist when you click the link for Sunbleached Cotton.)
- EcoChick and Eco CozyChic: 100% recycled polyester
- CozyTerry: 38% rayon, 35% cotton, 27% polyester
- LuxeChic: polyester/spandex
- ButterChic: marketed as athleisure wear and consists of 91% polyester, 9% spandex (10% of cotton can be found in the lining of the shorts in some of the items)
- CozyChic Cotton: 60% cotton, 40% polyester
- It’s the last fabric line listed on their site, and not one item in this line is included in their “customer favorites” section.
Look at the names of the fabrics they use for their apparel. Cozy, butter, luxe, Malibu — these all speak to consumers as breathable, soft, comfortable must-haves.
I subscribe to multiple apparel companies to study their marketing, and this article was born from a recent email I received from Barefoot Dreams. The subject lines of the last five emails I have received from them are:
- Find joy in relaxation with comfy pieces
- Coziest. Sleepwear. EVER.
- Experience unmatched luxury with 15% off
- Cozy up to Fall styles
- “Induces Immediate Calm”
Email marketing example from Barefoot Dreams.
My generation of consumers (I’m 35 years old) is fully convinced that polyester microfiber is the luxurious thing to wear and purchase. They will spend hundreds of dollars on this material, which leads me to believe it’s not just the cost of cotton that’s causing people to choose polyester. It’s also the language used.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Inception” with Leonardo DiCaprio, you’ll remember that the premise behind the movie is planting an idea in someone’s head that motivates their actions and future. That is what polyester champions have done. They’ve planted an idea in our minds about the luxurious, silky, softness of synthetic fibers, so we believe it and purchase it.
I’m not saying that the founder of Barefoot Dreams had some evil plot to manipulate us with polyester fabric. She just wanted to solve a problem and thought that polyester microfiber was the answer.
We are only now understanding the impact polyester and microplastics have on our bodies and planet. Much like the evolvement of cigarettes — where we initially never gave it a second thought to now convinced of how unhealthy it is — so, too, is polyester harming our systems and environment.
That’s why it is so important for each of us to use the research available from Cotton Incorporated and spread awareness of the following:
- The harm of synthetic fibers;
- The softness of cotton;
- I’m currently wearing a shirt made of 90% cotton and 10% spandex that would rival any butter leggings on the market — it’s one of the softest shirts I own.
- The odor control and coolness of cotton fiber;
- The durability of cotton apparel compared to synthetic;
- Cotton’s superior performance.
And above all of that, the single greatest thing any of us can do is purchase cotton. As consumers, we need to demand cotton products.
Barefoot Dreams has a limited supply of cotton apparel/accessories, but they do have them. Here are some cotton items for sale in their online store:
- Towel Terry Braided Slippers (cotton house shoes!)
- Towel Terry Sandal ($25!)
- More cotton items
Cotton Incorporated’s website The Fabric of Our Lives has a virtual “cotton shop” that you can purchase cotton clothing from as well.
We have to plant new seeds in society’s mind regarding cotton fiber and apparel using the resources I’ve shared here. And that’s going to require each and every one of us sharing this information with someone else.
Happy planting!
NCC, USDA Announce 4-Bale Module Averaging Pilot
NCC Press Release
MEMPHIS – The National Cotton Council (NCC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), are pleased to jointly announce the launch of the 4-Bale Module Averaging Pilot Program. This voluntary program, part of the USDA’s Cotton and Tobacco Program, aims to enhance cotton bale fungibility through modern techniques, increasing efficiencies in warehouse bale selection and improving overall quality. The initiative stems from the collaborative efforts of the NCC’s Cotton Flow Committee and the Quality Task Force, which identified cotton bale fungibility as a key area of mutual interest.
Gary Adams, NCC President and CEO, stated, “I am pleased we are able to jointly announce this pilot program. We believe this represents an important step forward in enhancing cotton bale fungibility and improving U.S. cotton’s competitive position.”
The pilot program includes specific criteria for averaging bales and reporting data back to customers. Participation is flexible, allowing customers to submit modules in multiples of four up to a total of 48 bales.
For more information on the pilot program and how to participate, please visit http://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/4-bale-module-averaging-pilot.