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European Union is reported to be the second biggest consumer of end textile products. However, there is no indication of the raw materials used for the production of the end textile products. EU countries produce approximately 360 000 tn of lint cotton, which translates to 2% of the world total. Despite its relatively small production, European cotton is, due to its renowned quality, the 8th most exportable cotton commodity in the world.

The European cotton production is concentrated in Greece and Spain – both countries have a long tradition in cotton production and have developed an extensive know-how in cultivation practices. Out of the European total cotton production, 25% is consumed by spinning mills in Europe covering about 40% of the domestic needs, and the remaining 75% is exported to other countries, mainly to countries of the Mediterranean basin (Turkey, Egypt) and Far East. A large percentage of the exported cotton is then re-imported to the EU as end textile products.

The EUCOTTON project proposal is submitted by the European Cotton Alliance (ECA), a European Economic Interest Grouping comprising by the most important European cotton associations.  The campaign objective is to increase the awareness and recognition of the European cotton, adding a very strong focus towards its quality and sustainability properties. Through this project, the beneficiary aims to raise awareness on cotton production in Europe and to increase demand for textiles made of European cotton. The project, therefore, is not designed to have a direct impact on the sales or exports of European cotton per se. Instead, EUCOTTON remains a promotion campaign which aspires to educate consumers and trade professionals on the higher quality of European cotton, its methods of production and its popularity around the world. The outcome of this campaign is expected to be the creation of added value for the quality trademark “EUCOTTON” and a rise of demand for made in 'European cotton' products.