Advances in yarn and fabric technology and the competitive pressure of growing imports of cotton fabrics have exerted pressure to improve the quality of U.S. cotton. Demand for stronger and longer cotton, with less short fibers, no neps, more mature and more evenly dyeable have escalated, from both domestic and overseas cotton customers. U.S. textile mills' demand for superior quality requires strong mill management, but also more reliable, uniform and better fiber. The detailed list of fiber requirements from each mill will vary not only with the specific end use, but with machinery and configuration of each plant. For cotton growers and cotton breeders to know how much cotton will be needed for specific present and future requirements, will require extensive interrogation/interviews of mill cotton buyers and production managers. Mills ranging from specialty yarn mills to fully integrated manufacturers who make yarn, weave or knit, and dye and finish fabric would need to be consulted. A scheme is proposed involving interrogation of a large number of cotton buyers and manufacturing technical directors for their opinion of fiber property requirements, based on (yarn) count, whether the fabric is woven or knit, whether the yarn will be spun on rotor, ring, or air-jet or similar new system, and on fiber composition - i.e. whether 1001 cotton or blend. With some information at hand on the poundage of cotton purchased for each category of processed yarn (i.e. yarn count, on each spinning system), one could analyze the approaches in a semiquantitative fashion, to tell growers and breeders something about the market for cotton in the various grade classes e.g. strength, length, etc. Looking further ahead, it should be possible to apply the same approach to the anticipated need for a hypothetical cotton fiber of the future - e.g. strength of 50 g/tex or higher, minimum short fiber content, fine and highly mature. With the help of assumptions on penetrating some synthetic fiber markets, one could assemble projections on what increased sales might result in new uses, or in expanded penetration of cotton in what are now markets for cotton/polyester blends.