Gebrüder Otto, headquartered in Dietenheim, Germany, is now supplying EUCOTTON-certified yarns based on fibres produced from cotton harvested exclusively in Greece and Spain by the European Cotton Alliance (ECA).

“A local approach is becoming increasingly important for us and both Greece and Spain have a long tradition of cotton production and extensive know-how,” says Otto managing director Andreas Merkel. “The EUCOTTON initiative is contemporary and forward-looking for many reasons.”

Until recently, only a quarter of the cotton produced in Greece and Spain has been processed in Europe with the rest exported, often to Southeast Asia, and then returned to the EU as textile end products.

“This makes little sense for ecological reasons,” says Merkel. “Even against the backdrop of increasing trade restrictions and problems in global supply chains, European sourcing must be a priority. It should be our concern to process the majority of European cotton in Europe, especially since it is of exceptionally high quality.”

The high quality of EUCOTTON yarns is based on advanced production methods, including exclusively mechanical harvesting. Careful harvesting processes ensure that the fibres are almost free of contamination by foreign fibres and state-of-the-art technology is also used for cleaning and ginning.

The cotton is also exceptionally uniform in terms of fibre length, strength and thickness which also contributes to spinnability and ensures EUCOTTON delivers important benefits in terms of ecological and social responsibility. GMO-free seeds protect the ecosystem and natural resources while advanced water management measures include drip irrigation and the use of pesticides and insecticides is minimised.

 “Of course, high-quality cotton is also grown elsewhere in the world, for example in Peru or the USA, but it it will then embark on a six-to-eight-week voyage before arriving in Germany,” Merkel explains. “EUCOTTON travels reliably by truck to our doorstep in five days and for many years we have attached great importance to such short, reliable and transparent supply chains. We are also increasingly seeing a desire among our customers to offer transparency to end customers.”

Founded in 1901, family-owned Gebrüder Otto’s traditional focus has been on high-quality cotton yarns and twists produced at its own yarn spinning, twisting and dyeing mill and the company has established a growing, customer specific portfolio of technical and medical yarns at its two locations in Balzheim and Dietenheim. With around 160 employees, Otto generated sales of around €30 million in 2023.

The EUCOTTON initiative  involves a number of cotton associations and textile industry partners, with headquarters in Larissa, Greece.

www.otto-garne.com