Skill Letts
VIEWS, VOICE & WAYS OF SKILLS
An in house journal of Additional Skill Acquisition Programme
SECTOR VIEW—— AGRICULTURE SECTOR ORGANIC FASHION INDUSTRY- New avenues for entrepreneurship ……..
Despite India’ s long history of natural fabrics, the trends and approvals, like much of the rest of fashion, are from the west. There is a buzz about eco-friendly and organic clothing in the west and now the people within India are realising the importance of it.
Indian Organic Textiles Market
India is the 2nd largest global textile manufacturer and 2nd largest producer of natural textile fibers in the world and the major fiber produced is cotton. Other fibers produced in India include silk, jute, wool, and man-made fibers. 60 % of the Indian textile industry is cotton-based The majority of organic cotton produced in India is processed in the country and exported only as textile. The demand for the product within the country is negligible, mostly because of its high price.
Organic fibres
Organic cotton has gained popularity the fastest of all the natural fibre and is now is moving full speed into mainstream clothing production. It has been instrumental in raising awareness and spearheading the change of all fibre production to organic methods.
Apart from Cotton, fibres from Bamboo grass is also increasingly being promoted. Bamboo fibre are antibacterial, hypoallergenic and sustainable. People who have sensitive skin or who are allergic to fabrics can wear garments made from organic bamboo without any problems. Bamboo fabric is often compared to Premium because it is composed of luxurious 100 % organic yarn that is sustainable, unbleached & untreated soft and smooth material.
Bhu: Satvva, a success story from Ahmedabad in Organic fashion industry
Ahmedabad-based organic textile start-up Bhu: sattva redefines organic fashion as more than just khadi, offering an experience it calls“ from field to fashion”.
The start-up provides eco-friendly classic clothing across India, which are created from organic crops in soil that has also been certified as organic. Bhu: sattva has more than 2,000 people directly or indirectly associated with it. Initially it started with men’ s wear, but Bhu: sattva now has tie-ups with designers in diverse locations across the globe, including Paris and Qatar.“ We are one of a kind since we offer an organic experience through our clothes. From the field to fashion, our products are entirely organic,” says Jainam Kumarpal, founder, Bhu: sattva. The raw material includes organic cotton, jute, bamboo fibre, banana fibre, Soyabean fibre etc. They use organic dyes derived from beetroot, henna, turmeric and catechu extracts. Their products include men’ s & women’ s wear, bridal collections and accessories. Right from sourcing raw material to ensuring its perpetual flow, backward integration processes including dyeing, weaving, blending of different fibres like banana fibres and pineapple fibre, soy fibre, milk fibre were challenging. Takers of organic cotton are very few and the farmers have to bear the brunt of this. Bhu: sattva encourages farmers to
cultivate organic cotton and also provide them a livelihood they deserve. Bhu: sattva also promotes the use of herbs with renowned medicinal properties, for coloring its garments. These natural colors help in rejuvenating the skin of the user rather than causing any harm unlike artificial colors Now, Bhu: sattva has fashion agents across the globe, with three agents covering Europe alone. It also claims to have a strong presence in Brazil, Mexico, Qatar, Singapore and the Philippines. Bhu: Sattva success story has key learning opportunities for budding entrepreneurs from Kerala who have access to organic fibre sources including banana & bamboo.
February 2017 Page 8