The answer is conditional, but urgent. TexPro’s price series point to a reset in relative risk rather than a completed structural rotation. Polyester remains the dominant fibre globally, but its traditional cost advantage is under pressure in the markets where PTA, MEG, paraxylene and energy disruption are moving faster than mills can pass costs downstream. Cotton, meanwhile, is gaining attention because funds have turned more constructive and drought has entered the production-risk conversation. That does not automatically make cotton structurally tight. It does make fibre neutrality more expensive.
Textile Exchange estimates that polyester accounted for ** per cent of global fibre output in ****, while cotton held ** per cent. Because polyester is so large, even a small sourcing adjustment can move procurement budgets, spinning demand and fabric availability. This is why the current shock has more strategic value than a normal raw-material price spike: it challenges the price spread that has historically made polyester and polyester-rich blends the default answer for value apparel.
