Organic growth

Mani Chinnaswamy felt a loss of identity when genetically modified varieties began replacing the extra-long staple cotton his family had been cultivating for five decades in Pollachi. Unlike many other farmers who shifted to the GM variety, Chinnaswamy persisted with the old variety and cultivated it organically by avoiding chemical fertilisers.

But soon he realised there was no market for this variety any more. Saddled with tons of cotton, he and his wife, Vijayalakshmi, decided to take up handloom weaving to make use of their produce. They bought 42 handlooms from a cooperative that was shutting down and refurbished them with the help of carpenters. They also brought in a designer from Mumbai to help them produce organic cotton sarees. And in 2008, Ethicus — the ‘ethical’ fashion brand from Tamil Nadu-based Appachi Cotton mill — was born.

In a market where regular cotton sarees rarely retail beyond ₹3,000, the Ethicus range starts at ₹3,500 and is priced up to ₹10,000. Nearly 3,000 sarees sell each year, and demand is growing steadily. This then is the story of hundreds of other organic cotton clothing brands too, as they find ready buyers among educated and environmentally conscious Indians, tourists and expatriates.

“There is a growing awareness about organic clothing. We are witnessing 100 per cent growth in sales every year,” says Sonal Baid, who together with her husband, Arun, set up Aura Herbal Wear in Ahmedabad in 2003.

Shishir Goenka, who has been manufacturing organic clothes since 2006, would readily concur. Supplying to brands in Canada, Sweden and Italy, he soon realised the growing demand back home. “I set up my own line, Fusion Clothing, in 2010,” he says. In the first year, his revenue was ₹20 lakh; today the business, including exports, brings in a whopping ₹10 crore annually.

Zany, naturally

A variety of factors are driving the organic craze. “People realise chemicals are bad for personal consumption as well as the environment… belief in the brand also plays an important role,” says Baid.

As much as 95 per cent of the cotton cultivated in India, the world’s second largest exporter of the fibre, is genetically modified. To stand out in a crowded market, organic brands rely on their differentiating designs, colours and aesthetics. Aura uses only herbal dyes derived from indigo, pomegranate peel, saffron and turmeric.

Bangalore-based Samtana prints selected works of Indian and international designers on its organic cotton T-shirts. Indigreen, founded in 2009 by Nidhi Singh and Gaurav Gupta, brings Bollywood to organic clothing with designs featuring funny movie dialogues.

Ben Heinkel, co-founder of Samtana, says many people now buy organic cotton clothes as they are drawn to their designs and aesthetic appeal. “And this is only natural at this stage, until there is more awareness of what organic and fair trade clothing is about.”

Affordably ethical

Designs apart, the brands are working overtime to erase the ‘organic is more expensive’ tag. “We are offering the consumer a price-competitive product with the additional super-values of being organic,” says Baid.

While one metre of pure organic white fabric costs ₹150, the regular cotton comes for around ₹120. An organic T-shirt is priced between ₹500 and ₹1,000, which compares favourably with the prices of big brands but is more expensive than the unbranded stuff. “Prices will remain a little high till scale is achieved. Economies of scale will make our products cheaper than conventional cotton,” says Baid.

Only a handful of factories are currently certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). “The majority of these are extremely large factories that supply the big brand international market and cannot, or do not, want to support a small, independent Indian brand. Finding the right partnership here has been very challenging,” says Heinkel.

To counter this shortcoming, 28 companies banded together last year as the Green People of India, to promote eco-enterprises. Even Fairtrade International, which helps producers gain access to markets at better terms, set up its India arm in November last year.

Partnering change

“With the help of Fairtrade India we have managed to form partnerships that we are happy with. This will help us bring out new collections at a much quicker pace,” Heinkel adds.

Eager to expand, the organic brands are however selective. Chinnaswamy of Ethicus does not retail through outlets that don’t use his tag. Samtana only sells online for now. Aura has a flagship store in Ahmedabad and franchisees in Kolkata, although half of its sales happen online. It also sells at 20 multi-brand outlets in India and three in Europe. “We aim to have stores across metros and big cities in the next few years, as the demand is huge,” Baid says. Chinnaswamy agrees: “Indians are sensitive to the cause of organic cotton. For us, the domestic market is the future, and branding is the route to it.”

COMMENT NOW