Cotton Prices

Cotton is one of the world’s most diversely used fibres. All manner of textile products, from clothing and home furnishings to medical supplies and even coffee filters, contain cotton as their dominant material. In the art world, cotton is found primarily in fine art papers and canvas.

Until late last year, the cotton supply and global demand had been roughly the same for approximately 8 years, resulting in stable prices. However, during the 2010/11 harvest, bad weather affected crops around the world. Worst hit were the major producers of cotton – China suffered drought conditions and south Asia experienced devastating floods. The result was severely reduced crops, a dramatic reduction in the global cotton supply, and the price of cotton nearly quadrupling.

The effects of this have reached finished goods and, as such, their cost has increased as well. For artists, this means the retail prices of paper and canvas that contain cotton have already begun to rise and are expected to keep going up through 2011 and possibly even 2012.

Thankfully, with change comes opportunity, such as the chance to try alternative materials and surfaces. We encourage you to expand your possibilities with papers made with bamboo, mulberry and hemp or explore substrates like linen canvas, wooden cradled panels, aluminum panels, artboards and more. Ask an Opus staff member for more ideas.