Indexes of Average Apparel Product Weight & Models of U.S. END-Use Consumption

Global mill-use of cotton remains about 10% below its peak in the mid-2000s. Mill demand is ultimately a reflection of what order placement from retailer and brands and therefore is reflected in end-use consumption. Even though the U.S. represents only about 4% of the world’s population, the U.S. accounts for 25% of the world end-use for cotton. Since the U.S. is such an important consumer market, an understanding of the dynamics affecting U.S. end-use should provide relevant insight regarding global cotton demand. There are several factors that can potentially explain the decline in U.S. end-use consumption in recent years. One of them is the decline in average product weight that has occurred since 2006-07. To better understand the effect of the change in average product weight relative to other explanatory variables, an objective of this research is to explore the significance of newly developed indexes of average garment weight to statistical models of U.S. end-use consumption.