Each contestant was given a sewing station and had to complete a series of design challenges, including creating prêt-a-porter garments and evening wear with cotton fabric. Celebrity judges eliminated the weakest designers, and 12 finalists showcased their designs during a fashion show.

The winning designer, Shrivan Bhatia, became CCI’s Brand Ambassador for 2009/10 and will design an exclusive cotton collection. The TV program’s earned advertising value was $410,000, more than double CCI’s investment. Impressed by CCI’s campaigns, India’s cotton industry announced in 2009 that it would begin consumer promotion of cotton products within their domestic markets. CCI views this as an important step by the world’s second largest cotton producing country to join global efforts to enhance consumer demand. India has a fast-growing economy, the second largest population behind China and represents one of the world’s best opportunities to expand demand for cotton products at retail.

International Buyers Travel to Bangladesh to Meet COTTON USA Suppliers

Despite disruptions created by the erupting volcano in Iceland, as well as tough economic conditions, the weeklong COTTON USA Supply Chain Marketing Buyers Tour to Bangladesh attracted buyers representing British, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Turkish and U.S. brands and retailers. The tour enabled buyers to meet with leading Bangladeshi suppliers of U.S. cotton-rich garments. During the tour, consisting of a two-day trade fair followed by two days of mill visits, the buyers met individually with 17 COTTON USA licensees and visited six factories. The participating retailers have a combined buying volume of over a billion dollars.

"I found the COTTON USA Buyers Tour in Bangladesh very interesting and well organized," said Nicoletta Genoni, Buyer, Children's Wear Artsana (Chicco). "It was an excellent idea to meet in one location with several suppliers, enabling us to optimize our time. We visited the most significant suppliers in terms of production typology that match best with our company. It was an extremely interesting opportunity to start up new business contacts there."

This was the first COTTON USA Supply Chain Marketing Buyers Tour to Bangladesh, which was chosen for the growing use of U.S. cotton and increasing interest among the buyer and retailer community. Bangladesh is the fourth largest apparel exporting country in the world, experiencing 91 percent growth from 2004-08. It is the largest exporter of cotton T-shirts and the second largest exporter of cotton pullovers and denim trousers to the EU.

Please see the side note