The price of cotton has risen at such a rate that the textile rental industry faces a crisis that will continue to threaten not only the laundries and their suppliers but any customer that relies on cotton or cotton-based products.
As the report commissioned by the TSA and my own research for this month’s bed linen feature (p7- 10) show, prices are now unsustainable, supplies are uncertain and constant checks on product quality are essential.
Action is clearly needed but what action should industry operators take?
The extra costs in purchasing replacement stock that is essential to any laundry operator are threatening to wipe out profits. The need to pass on additional costs is undeniable but the solution is not that easy.
A recent analysis of the cotton crisis in Caterer and Hotelkeeper suggested that the hotel sector would be largely reluctant to accept a rise in laundry charges as this industry too faces severe declines in incomes as it struggles to maintain room rates and increase bookings. David Harper, a consultant to the industry, is quoted as saying: “If laundry costs go up it could jeopardise the whole operation”.
Yet the textile rental industry is also at risk of losing thousands of jobs and seeing closing businesses if the present situation continues. There is also a danger that product qualities may fall and this could be detrimental not only to textile rental operators and textile suppliers but to also to hotels, as their guests may receive a poorer service and therefore be less willing to return.
We have a set of inter-related industries which all need to survive and are all under threat. There are no easy, short term solutions. Working together to find answers will be the only way and is not just advisable but essential.
Textile rental operators need to work both with their customers and their suppliers to find solutions and ways of easing the negative effects of the cotton crisis. They also need to work together as an industry to feed back ideas.
They will have help from the TSA in explaining the situation – both through its report, which is available from the TSA website (www.tsa-uk.org), and through addresses to conferences. Murray Simpson tells me he will be taking every opportunity to speak at conferences in the hospitality sector as well as those for the textile care industry.
LCN will also be exploring the subject in more depth in a future issue and the article will also appear online.
There is no easy solution. There is no single answer to the problems. Co-operation is the way.
Janet Taylor – Jtaylor@laundryandcleaningnews.com
