The International Cotton Association (ICA) will celebrate its 175th anniversary tomorrow, which it considers as a significant milestone for the association and the entire cotton trade.

To commemorate the anniversary, a new book written by archivist, Vincent McKernan – The Story of Cotton is in production and contains stunning photographs and fascinating stories from the cotton archives.

“Due for publication this October, to coincide with the ICA’s annual trade event, ICA is providing a sneak preview of the book by sharing a series of extracts from its pages,” an ICA release stated.

“This book is the story of how a small organisation of brokers was transformed into the largest and most important cotton association in the world,” the book’s author, Vincent McKernan said.

The association was officially formed on April 2, 1841, when a group of 90 firms banded together to create a set of bylaws and rules to help regulate the sale and purchase of raw cotton.

“175 years later, the majority of the world’s raw cotton continues to be traded under ICA bylaws and rules,” ICA explained.

ICA’s present president, Jean-Marc Derossis said, “It is a great honour for me to be President during such an historic milestone and our anniversary on April two marks the start of a very exciting time for the association.”