Farm Progress

U.S. cotton has the reputation as the cleanest lint in the world.This distinction is under threat these days by an increased amount of plastic contamination found in shipments received by domestic textile mills.This finding has the U.S. cotton industry on high alert. The plastic threatens U.S. cotton’s clean reputation.

Cary Blake 1, Editor

May 31, 2013

1 Min Read
<p> Participants at the 2013 Arizona Cotton Industry Meeting from left: James Dodson, chairman, National Cotton Council (speaker), Robstown, Texas; Roger Murphey, Desert Distributing Company, Ehrenburg, Ariz.; and Mark Lange, NCC President (speaker), Cordova, Tenn.</p>

U.S. cotton has the reputation as the cleanest lint in the world. This distinction is under threat these days by an increased amount of plastic contamination found in shipments received by domestic textile mills.

Last year, plastic contamination moved from an ongoing concern to a front-burner issue for the cotton industry. U.S. textile mills notified the National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA) and others about thick plastic films found in the cotton received by the mills.

This finding has the U.S. cotton industry on high alert. The plastic threatens U.S. cotton’s clean reputation.

“The goal as a ginner is to produce and provide the best lint and fiber in the world,” said Richard Kelley, NCGA President and the owner-president of the Burlison Gin Company in Burlison, Tenn.

“We cannot provide the best fiber in the world if it’s contaminated.”

Kelley and NCGA Executive Director Harrison Ashley discussed the plastic contamination issue with cotton growers, ginners, and other industry representatives during the 2013 Arizona Cotton Industry Meeting in Carefree, Ariz. in early May.

(See full article here.)

About the Author(s)

Cary Blake 1

Editor, Western Farm Press

Cary Blake, associate editor with Western Farm Press, has 32 years experience as an agricultural journalist. Blake covered Midwest agriculture for 25 years on a statewide farm radio network and through television stories that blanketed the nation.
 
Blake traveled West in 2003. Today he reports on production agriculture in California and Arizona.
 
Blake is a native Mississippian, graduate of Mississippi State University, and a former Christmas tree grower.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like