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"  Premier Vision, the international fabric buying show for Spring 2012 took place last month. At the event, buyers found the price of wool was up by around 40% and of cotton a whopping 160%. The reason for these large increases is an imbalance of supply and demand. While there&amp;#039;s an increasing demand for fabrics, with Chinese consumers clamoring for more inexpensive cotton clothing choices, flooding in major cotton- and wool-producing countries, including Australia, China and Pakistan, has decimated the cotton crop and sheep farms, drastically reducing the available of raw materials. What does this mean for you? Sticker shock. When you go shopping for clothing a year from now, expect to see prices up to 15% higher. Our advice? Shop smartly now. Think very carefully about what you purchase for this spring and summer and opt for quality over trendiness to make sure your hard-earned money is spent on clothes your family can wear for many seasons. For more money-saving ideas, see Amy Robert&amp;#039;s posts on her spending diet. To see how we test products at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, please go to www.goodhousekeeping.com/ghri tours. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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