COTTON SHORTAGE

= Pricey T-shirts and Jeans

& Futon Mattresses Too!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)

The reason: Cotton prices have nearly doubled this year, hitting a near 15-year high following a chain of events among major Asian cotton producers that has choked off global supply.

The price of raw cotton reached 90 cents a pound this year, up from the 40 or 50 cent average, said Mark Messura, an economist and vice president with Cotton Incorporated.

Cotton domino effect: First, a drought in China, the world's largest cotton producer and consumer, damaged crops there and forced the nation to ramp up cotton imports to make up for the shortfall.

Meanwhile, the world's second-biggest cotton producer, India, restricted its exports to protect domestic supplies and prices.

At the same time, Pakistan, another major cotton producer, was hit by devastating floods, further exacerbating the cotton shortage and boosting raw cotton prices even higher.

The impact on your wallet: Facing soaring prices, analysts say textile makers and clothing retailers…may have to pass along higher costs to consumers.

Better buy now: Typically there's a four to six month lag time in the order-to-production cycle. Therefore, the most recent jump in cotton prices will be factored into merchandise hitting stores after Christmas

Dream On has been hit with 26% increases in cotton prices during 2010. We have absorbed much of the cotton price increase during this year. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to raise the retail price of our futon mattresses in 2011.