It’s bad enough that cotton producers are losing market share to more cheaply priced manmade fibers, but when pieces of plastic sheeting cause shutdowns of textile mills or rejections of cotton fabrics that makes the economic damage even worse.

The National Cotton Council has been monitoring lint contamination reports by its textile customers for years. Some estimates put the cost of removing bits of shopping bags and other plastic materials from cotton at the gin or textile mill as high as $200 million a year.

“I know that we emphasize this a lot, but I assure you that lint contamination is negatively affecting the health of the entire industry” said National Cotton Council Chairman Shawn Holladay. Holladay spoke during the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, held in Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 24-25.

“For that reason, we are continuing our contamination prevention education efforts. I urge you as leaders to make this a priority in your operations.”

Prior to Holladay’s speech at the Gin Show’s Ag Update Session, NCC field representatives handed out leaflets explaining the new Round Module Wrap Standard, developed by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

“The standard protects the industry against inferior wrap products that are beginning to enter the U.S. market and could cause contamination,” the leaflet said. “The standard was developed using measurements from wrap products that perform at levels acceptable to the U.S. cotton industry.

“Producers are urged to only use approved wrap products, ensuring the chance for plastic contamination is greatly reduced.”

To view a list of products that meet the new standard, visit the National Cotton Council’s website at https://www.cotton.org/tech/quality/contamfree.cfm.