COTTON CRISIS: Wool isn’t the only natural fiber that’s grabbed the attention of Prince Charles, who on Wednesday addressed a high-level meeting about sustainable cotton at The British Academy in London’s St. James’s.

The future king of England said cotton production is “all too often associated with the depletion of local water supplies and the widespread, and sometimes indiscriminate, use of harmful pesticides [that] can take a heavy toll on human health.”

He said climate change would only make the situation worse, with higher temperatures and changing rain patterns likely to cause more severe water shortages in important cotton-growing regions. He also pointed out that cotton is beset by rising costs of production and market volatility, making it difficult for farmers to make a decent living.

“Sustainable cotton production has the added benefit of reducing some of those risk factors considerably, and can make a significant contribution to healthy economic growth and higher farm incomes,” the prince said.

Earlier in the day, 13 clothing and textile companies put their signatures to The Sustainable Cotton Communiqué, pledging to use 100 percent sustainable cotton by 2025.