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Organic and eco-friendly apparel label Bhu:sattva is planning to set up shop in the US and Canada and enter a range of accessories next year.
The US and Canada spend a lot on apparel. While America accounts for 26.69 per cent of the world market, the average Canadian household incurs an annual expenditure of 2,450 Canadian dollars on clothing. Purchases in the two markets are also marked by an extensive awareness of social responsibility and the health benefits of organic clothing.
“This makes the consumer base of the two countries perfect for Bhu:sattva products and the clothing label has already gained initial traction in these regions,” Jainam Kumarpal, Founder-Director, told BusinessLine .
Until now, the brand was focusing on West Asian and South American markets, he said.
The upcoming organic apparel is not a category but the process for making healthy and eco-friendly apparel, he said, adding Bhu:sattva, unlike Fabindia and others, offered completely hand-made, customised and embroidered clothing and other similarly crafted material.
“We are also going to launch accessories like footwear, jewellery, essential oil, neckpieces, scarves and handbags.”
The textile and apparel industry can be broadly divided into two segments - yarn and fibre and processed fabrics and apparel.
India accounts for nearly 14 per cent of the world's production of textile fibres and yarns and is the largest producer of jute, second largest producer of silk and cotton, and third largest in cellulosic fibre. India has the highest loom capacity (including handlooms) with 63 per cent of the world's market share.
The domestic textile and apparel industry in India is estimated to go up from $67 billion in 2014 to $141 billion 2021. Increased penetration of organised retail, favourable demographics, and rising income levels are likely to drive the demand for textiles. India is the world's second largest exporter of textiles and clothing, he said.
Textile and apparel exports from India are expected to increase from $40 billion in 2014 to $82 billion by 2021. Readymade garments remain the largest contributor to total textile and apparel exports from India.
In FY15, the segment had a share of 40 per cent of all textile and apparel exports. Cotton and man-made textiles were the other major contributors with shares of 31 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
At present, the organised apparel market in India is only 20 per cent of the total, which is estimated at $45 billion in 2013.
Trendy Indians are increasingly seeking out eco-friendly fabrics, sustainable clothing, and organic apparel: clothes made from bamboo, hemp and eucalyptus fibre, infused with healing herbs, using vegetable colours and natural dyes and organic cotton, grown from non-genetically-modified.
In India, sustainable fashion has started gaining popularity only recently. “We have witnessed a 60-65% increase in demand since 2012,” he added.
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