MIAMI — Gabriela Buchanan, a tourist from Mexico City, sat empty-handed on a bench on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road Mall Tuesday afternoon. She had been shopping unsuccessfully for jeans and T-shirts.
“In the past 10 years, you could shop for jeans for $40 or $50 and now they’re $90,” she said.
“The cotton T-shirts have gone up to $30. They used to be $20.”
Just in time for summer — the season for breathable fabrics — the price of cotton clothing has risen 20 to 30 percent, depending on quality. Everything from basic briefs to designer jeans is heading up.
Blame floods in Pakistan and Australia and freezes in China for wiping out farmers’ crops, causing cotton prices to double since last year. Farmers in the U.S. and worldwide are scrambling to meet demand. Though prices are down from their record a month ago, industry watchers expect them to remain high.
“Certainly there will be some price increases, certainly through this fall,” said Jim Sluzewski, a spokesman for the Macy’s department store chain.
Some retailers say the increases will be more pronounced for low-cost staples made of 100 percent cotton such as underwear and socks. But Levi Strauss & Co. has increased prices for the Levis for Men line sold wholesale to stores such as J. C. Penney and Kohl’s.
“We’re not backing down on quality and we’re committed to cotton being the primary component of our jeans,” Levi Strauss spokeswoman Kris Marubio said.
A check of online prices showed a pair of Levi’s Men’s 514 Slim Straight jeans priced at $54 last year now costs about $4 more.
Conversely, the impact on the price of high-end designer jeans may not be as noticeable.
Cindi Zilber, proprietor of At Ease in South Miami, where a pair of jeans costs $225, said rising cotton prices haven’t affected her business.
“We haven’t felt it,” she said. “We do very luxurious fabrics here. We are more of a designer price point, and at this price point, it’s hardly noticeable.”
Gail Blum, who owns and operates two Tupelo Honey stores in the Miami area, says designer jeans that used to go for $200 to $250 three years ago now sell for about $175.
Blum said the manufacturers she does business with locked in their cotton prices earlier than some others, thereby avoiding the brunt of the spike that topped $2 per pound in March. Still, with her cost for cotton and denim up 10 percent, she may have to raise prices.
“Will I turn it over to the consumer? I’m trying not to,” Blum said.
Macy’s is working with its vendors to find ways to offset cotton costs, such as improving shipping efficiency or cutting out a step in the fabric sampling process.
“There may be a shift from cotton to cotton blend to increase the value to the customer,” Sluzewski said.
Like Macy’s, Gap Inc. is experimenting with different fabrics and blends to cut costs. Company spokeswoman Liz Nunan said Gap is also looking to work with suppliers in countries that have free trade agreements and reducing inefficiencies in the supply process.
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