The adult apparel segment may be facing a rough patch but the demand for organic apparel range for kids is booming. Interestingly, most Indian manufacturers who were till now catering to international organic labels are either launching their own retail labels or even getting international brands to India.

Deepak Agarwal, CEO, Gron Stockholm India, said “India is the largest producer of organic cotton. However, a chunk of it is exported. We used to export to the US and European markets as finished garments for international labels.”

Organic cotton is grown without using any chemical pesticide or fertiliser.

Agarwal recently tied up with international retail brand Gron Stockholm, a specialist in organic kids wear brand, to enter the Indian market.

“When we entered India, there was hardly any awareness about organic wear. But the demand is growing significantly,” Agarwal said adding the company plans to launch 15 stores within the next one year. Its in-house brands include Geggamoja, Mijn, Bamboo Baby and Grön.

Increased spending

A Technova study on baby care segment points that increasing household income in India and lesser number of kids per household has resulted in increased spending per baby in the family. Also international brands line Chicco and Pigeon already have a presence in India through a subsidiary or distributors.

“Many international players are trying to establish connect with the child and the parents. They are introducing new, attractive and high quality products that offer unique benefits… Also in urban markets, babies are more prone to the allergies such as respiratory, skin and food.”

Nino Bambino, another organic clothing line for babies, said here is a well thought out reason behind providing organic clothing to babies.

Health benefits

“With an increase in the number of chemicals used in the farming process, the cotton which is processed into fabric tends to cause skin irritation and problems. Children have extremely sensitive skin and the use of organic cotton apparel reduces the scope of irritation. Even the buttons used in the clothes are nickel free,” Vickram Kumar, Director of Nino Bambino, said.

Nino Bambino was also manufacturing for international brands but was recently vertically integrated to cash in on the demand from the domestic market from indulgent parents. Besides a brick-and-mortar store, the company has tied up with specialised baby products sites Firtscry.com and babyoye.com among others to increase footprint.

Brands such as Chicco, which had organic apparel, are however going slow on its apparel range saying consumer awareness is still too extremely low. Also prices are a tad higher than normal apparel.

> bindu.menon@thehindu.co.in

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