Today is a special day. No, not just because it’s Saturday and we’re one week closer to summer and the bacon butties are on the go. Today also marks the 175th anniversary of the prestigious International Cotton Association (ICA) and nearly two centuries worth of world-altering work within the cotton trading industry. Doing what we do, cotton is something that’s pretty close to the heart of DCTUK so we couldn’t not celebrate the occasion with a little blog update now could we?
Who, what, when?
Lets go waaay back to 1759 when Georges Danton was a lad and wireless internet was mere figment of futuristic fabrication. This was the year the first recorded cotton dealing took place in the lovely land of Liverpool. An advert was published in the Liverpool Chronicle and Marine Gazetter for the auction of 28 bags of Jamaican cotton. (This was back when ‘adverts in the paper’ meant hustling business as opposed to single, middle-aged females seeking ‘balding partner who won’t mind sharing the bed with cats’.) This deal was the first in a long line of exchanges that would write a legendary history of cotton trading in Liverpool, which is a narrative that is still developing as we speak.
To cut a very long story very short (we know you haven’t got all day - you want to get on with ordering your , free samples) during the 7 decades following this milestone deal, the Industrial Revolution, new connections with the USA, World War II and the Great Depression caused a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs for the cotton industry in Liverpool but peaks reigned victorious in spite of the troughs. The city even managed to overtake London in the trade and bag well over five million bales go cotton during the year between 1911 and 1912, amidst the industrial chaos before and after. How’s that for a financial year!
And what about the ICA?
Thanks to its close proximity to the Lancashire cotton towns, advancements in transportation and the development of the Transatlantic Telegraph Cable which facilitated long distance communication within minutes, Liverpool soon became the country’s leading cotton trader. As we explained in our , History of Our New Home blog post, traders would come and carry out their deals from the Grade-II listed building that houses our HQ today. During this time the ICA was known as the Liverpool Cotton Association and it wasn’t until its post-Depression, global rebirth that it eventually became known as the International Cotton Association.
The association was first formed in 1841, in Liverpool with aims to regulate the sale and purchase of raw cotton and in 1863, a group of cotton traders laid down the industry law with a set of trading bylaws and these regulations are still applied to a majority of the world’s cotton trading deals today. Despite its slick name change in 2004, the association has always had the same motivation and purpose at heart. It provides invaluable support facilities to fellow cotton geeks and tradesmen, including expert training, trade events, networking opportunities and cotton testing. We have no doubt that we wouldn’t be where we are today without it so let’s raise a glass this Saturday night to the ICA!
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