Cotton Outlook is published by Cotlook Limited, an independent Merseyside-based company that has been engaged in publishing cotton news for over 75 years. Cotton Outlook is run and staffed by people who have no trading interest in raw cotton, and has thus won a world-wide reputation for accuracy and impartiality. For over 25 years it has compiled and published the Cotlook A Index of raw cotton values. The A Index is widely regarded as the reliable barometer of world cotton values, and is referred to by the major international cotton organisations, such as the International Cotton Advisory Committee, and for many years has been used as a key price in US farm legislation. The Index is used in many different ways by various countries and trading organisations.

Cotlook Limited is a subsidiary company of The Outlook Group Limited. Other members of the same group include Liverpool Cotton Services, which is a provider of cotton arbitration services.