Our goal: Strong together
As a joint association of cotton producers, processors and traders, the Bremen Cotton Exchange represents the interests of the industry vis-à-vis politicians, authorities and the public. In addition, we support our members by providing comprehensive information and consulting services along the entire value chain.
The top priority of our association activities is the satisfaction of our members. We achieve this by pooling expertise and promoting interdisciplinary exchange.
About us
The Bremen Cotton Exchange is an international commodity organization. In association with 16 other cotton exchanges worldwide, it ensures that the cotton business is conducted in accordance with the contract. The “basic law” for the cotton trade, the rules of the trade, includes, for example, its own jurisdiction. It also includes a set of instruments for settling disagreements between the contracting parties about the quality of the goods supplied. Clear, neutral rules are indispensable for trading in a product that is produced in over 80 countries and that is constantly changing both in price and quality.
The aim is to achieve a uniform set of regulations worldwide. Our membership of about 30 countries is recruited from the circles interested in the business with the raw material cotton. It ranges from producers to traders to processors, i.e. spinners or weavers.
In the age of globalization and changing trade structures, it remains a major challenge for us to represent the interests of the cotton industry at national and international level. We are facing up to this – by providing technology and knowledge about cotton testing, by harmonizing trade rules internationally, and by cooperating and joining forces with other organizations.
Our Tasks
Services around Cotton
As the Bremen Cotton Exchange, we have been offering our members a wide range of cotton-related services for 150 years as a legally recognized association.
In accordance with our statutes, our aim is to safeguard and promote the interests of all market participants involved in the trade in cotton, as well as in the processing and finishing of cotton or products made from other textile fibers.
Guardian of the „Basic Law“
The Bremen Cotton Exchange, in association with 16 other cotton exchanges worldwide, ensures that the cotton business is conducted in accordance with the contract. Our basis is the “Bremen Rules” issued as early as 1872. They have been further developed over the course of time – depending on changes in global trading processes. And they are still regarded today as the basic law for cotton trade contracts concluded at home and abroad. In 2006, the Liverpool Rules were adopted by the ICA (International Cotton Association), Liverpool. The aim was to create uniform rules for the cotton trade worldwide.
Arbitration
The Cotton Exchange is an international arbitration body. It has a range of instruments at its disposal to settle any disagreements in the cotton trade – for example, when it comes to the quality of the goods supplied. Clear, neutral rules are essential for trade in the product. After all, cotton is produced in over 80 countries and is constantly changing, both in price and quality. Contractors who are proven to violate existing rules are blacklisted, the “List of Unfulfilled Awards”.
Know-how – Trust for Cotton
In the last few decades in particular, many things have changed fundamentally in cotton. This concerns both advances in seed breeding, agricultural research and the cultivation methods of the natural fiber as well as the processing techniques in the industry. The result is higher productivity and better quality.
The cotton trade has always been global. But at the same time, as globalization continues to grow, trade routes, production locations and sourcing of textiles and apparel are changing more and more. The Bremen Cotton Exchange meets these market challenges, among other things, through cooperation with the Bremen Fiber Institute FIBRE e.V. The institute has in-depth expertise in fiber testing and quality testing.
Active Communication
In the coming years, the world’s population will grow rapidly. This will be accompanied by a sharp rise in demand for fashionable clothing made of cotton. This represents a major growth opportunity. At the same time, the world cotton industry is making massive progress in the sustainable, resource-conserving and environmentally friendly cultivation of cotton. The Cotton Exchange is increasingly confronted with questions in this direction. We therefore increasingly see it as our task to provide objective and factual information about the latest developments on cotton and its added value for the world community. This applies both to our members and to the general public. After all, communication and education about the importance of cotton as a raw material are becoming increasingly important across all stages of the supply chain, right through to the end consumer.
Trainings
Several times a year, the Cotton Exchange offers training courses on cotton for employees of textile and clothing companies or service providers in the textile industry. The growing number of participants speaks for the quality of our training.
Management and Renting
We are the owner of a listed but state-of-the-art property in the center of Bremen – in the immediate vicinity of the historic town hall and the old town, which is well worth seeing. In addition, the Bremen Cotton Exchange also performs administrative and leasing tasks. The building, which is rich in tradition, is not only the headquarters of the association itself, but also of various renowned companies from the service and consulting sector as well as the cotton trade. It has conference and meeting rooms that are ideal for corporate events, such as the Tower Room.