Consumer Shopping Habits and Preferences for Two Decades

According to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor Survey, which has monitored consumer shopping habits and preferences for two decades, 62% of consumers agree that cotton clothing tends to be of better quality than apparel made from manmade fibers.

Unfortunately for these consumers, many brands and retailers have been substituting greater percentages of manmade fibers into clothing that was typically all, or predominantly, cotton. A series of educational videos from Cotton Incorporated seek to help consumers understand why the substitutions have occurred and why issues like fabric pilling and stretch recovery may be occurring in purchased apparel.

Substitutions of man-made fibers for cotton came in response to historically high cotton fiber prices two years ago. Although cotton prices have since returned to more predictable levels, many manufacturers and brands have not returned to cotton.

Cotton Incorporated analyzed more than 500,000 customer comments on brand and retailer websites through its Customer Comments Research Project. According to the data, consumers are identifying performance issues such as pilling, stretch and recovery and odor retention in apparel that once contained high percentages of cotton, but now contain predominantly rayon and polyester fibers.

According Lifestyle Monitor data, about 56% of consumers have noticed substitutions away from cotton in their apparel, and more than half would be willing to pay more to get cotton back into their clothing.

Additional data from the Lifestyle Monitor indicates that 70% of consumers feel they are paying more for apparel, and more than half say their clothing is not lasting as long as it used to.