When consumers talk about their favorite things to wear, they mention comfort, fit and that the item makes them feel good. And more often than not, their favorite clothes are made of cotton. It’s the research that revealed these preferences that led to the fabric’s latest ad campaign, “Cotton. It’s Your Favorite for a Reason.”Almost three in 10 consumers (29 percent) said jeans are their favorite piece of apparel, followed by tees (15 percent), active bottoms (9 percent), and casual pants (8 percent), according to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor Survey. When asked why it was their favorite, almost one in two consumers (47 percent) cited comfort as the reason, followed by fit (19 percent), and that the item makes them look or feel good (14 percent).Ric Hendee, senior vice president, consumer marketing for Cotton Incorporated, said the “Favorite for a Reason” campaign will let real people tell compelling personal stories concerning their favorite garments both in the ads, as well as online.“We will use these stories, these people, to help us build out a web presence that will let consumers see and shop a wide variety of collections of curated favorites,” Hendee explains, adding that the aim is to inspire shoppers to check the label for cotton so “the next thing you buy has a chance to be your new favorite.”Research shows more than nine in 10 consumers prefer their jeans (96 percent), tees (96 percent), socks (93 percent) and casual shirts (91 percent) be made from cotton and cotton blends, according to the Monitor data. Beyond that, nearly nine of 10 (89 percent) prefer cotton or cotton blend underwear, followed by pajamas/sleepwear (86 percent), dress shirts (78 percent), casual slacks (74 percent), and activewear (65 percent).Additionally, the Monitor survey finds that in general, eight in 10 consumers prefer to wear cotton and cotton blends. And nearly the same percentage (79 percent) said better quality garments are made from all natural fibers like cotton.At Faherty, the New York-based beach-inspired sportswear line, quality is actually part of the company’s mission statement. Shoppers are instructed to return a garment at any time “if through any fault in construction or material it does not give you the greatest amount of comfort and wear.” Cotton plays a major role in the brand’s collections.“People are looking for beautiful things that will fit their aesthetic,” said Kerry Faherty, president. “From a selling perspective, we want people to touch the fabric and admire the pieces we’re selling.”While Faherty sells at a higher price point, more than one in two shoppers (54 percent) said they are willing to pay a premium for natural fibers like cotton, according to the Monitor survey. That’s because the fabric touches on so many consumer preferences: More than eight of 10 describe cotton as comfortable (88 percent), soft (85 percent), good quality (85 percent), casual (83 percent), durable (82 percent), and natural (81 percent).The ad campaign reflects these statistics.“This dress is my favorite because it’s flowing and beautiful. It makes me feel elegant,” says one of the ad’s “storytellers.” A young man says, “These pants are my favorite because they keep me comfortable.” Viewers also see a young woman baking in her kitchen wearing a breathable cotton dress, as well as someone saying her favorite jeans get better with time. Then we also see a woman saying, “I care what goes on my body — and it’s cotton.”The first commercial launched April 20 with 30- and 15-second spots. Additional commercials will roll out over the course of the year. The “real people with real stories” program, produced by DDB New York, is a departure from the popular ads featuring young celebrities, including Hayden Panettiere, Zooey Deschanel, Miranda Lambert and Colbie Caillat.Hendee said the company has had “great success” with The Fabric of My Life campaign that featured each celeb singing her version of the familiar jingle.“More than 75 percent of all young females in the U.S. knew the campaign and liked it,” he states. “But cotton needs a stronger dose of help right now to effectively compete with the polyesters and rayons that are being designed to look and feel more like cotton than they ever did in the past. So we embarked upon a year of consumer research and visits with Cotton Incorporated’s technical staff to better understand what consumers really want and what sets cotton apart in delivering upon those wants.”Kim Kitchings, Cotton Incorporated’s vice president of corporate strategy and program metrics, said the organization conducted extensive consumer research so the campaign could reflect what consumers say they like and want.“We learned that 69 percent of consumers say their favorite piece of clothing is at least 60 percent cotton,” Kitchings said. “This is particularly significant because it shows that even though cotton has experienced a contraction in market share, it is still something consumers want.”Consumers also said they’ve owned these favorite cotton or cotton-rich pieces for, on average, three years. And 70 percent wear these best-loved items once a week or more. Hendee said DDB saw in these insights an opportunity to get consumers to appreciate the things they already own and love—and use over and over again. Consumers, he said, keep wearing their favorite garments because they consistently fit well, look great, are comfortable and don’t quickly lose shape or wear out.“The funny thing about apparel favorites that meet these criteria: they tend to be made of cotton,” Hendee said. “For instance, denim is of course cotton but few consumers think of that fact…or credit cotton for it. Until now.” This article is one in a series that appears weekly on sourcingjournalonline.com. The data contained are based on findings from the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor Survey, a consumer attitudinal study, as well as upon other of the company’s industrial indicators, including its Retail Monitor and Supply Chain Insights analyses. Additional relevant information can be found at CottonLifestyleMonitor.com.Catherine Salfino, Sourcing Journal Online