Eco fashion is no more about hippie skirts and shorts.Simple and stylish clothes allow the consumer to wear them to the office,events and many other places. Ecological clothing is gaining popularity thesedays. People now consider eco-clothes as safe, fashionable and trendy. Organicclothes are made from fibers that are grown without the use of pesticides,herbicides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers or other chemicals. Also thesefibers are processed without using harsh dyes, chemicals or mixing the organicfibers with non-organic ones. Many skin diseases and health hazards occur dueto wearing of fabrics which are cultivated and processed by usage of pesticidesand synthetic dyes


Global market for organic cotton:


Demand for organic cotton saw a positive increase from 245million USD in 2001 to 580 million USD in 2005 and to 1.1 billion USD in 2006.Global production of organic cotton in 24 countries was 57,931 metric tons in2006. Sales of textile retail are estimated by industry leaders to reach 2.6billion USD by 2009 with a 116 percent annual growth rate. Substantially, thedemand for organic cotton is also expected to increase from 40,000 metric tonsin 2006 to 100,000 metric tons in 2009 showing a drastic growth rate of 75percent. Market for organic cotton is estimated to be 3.5 billion USD in 2008,4.5 billion USD in 2009, and reach 6.8 billion USD in 2010.

 

Organic industry in India:


Organic cotton, which makes up 95% of organic fabrics, isthe driving force behind the trend. Clothes made from organic fabrics are easyto maintain and clean. Despite the low market share of clothing industry in India, demand for organic clothes' is growing at the rate of 30% per year, which is quiteencouraging. Apprehensive threats of global warming, and an increasingawareness about environmentally friendly way of living has driven more traffictowards organic clothing. The industry is also boosted up by fashion designerswho design their collections with organic fabrics, and put the clothing underthe global spotlight through fashion shows. Designers are working towardsmaking these clothes more appealing, fashionable and economical. They wanttheir consumers to think about the cotton in their clothing and the conditionsunder which the garment is being manufactured. Down the line, after some yearspeople would be spotted wearing trendy and stylish outfits made up of organiccotton and fabrics. The demand is fueled by fashion magazines that help increating the desire for organic clothing as a must have for each season.


Different types of garments are made from organic cotton,such as salwar-kameez, dupatta, skirts, short kurtis, t-shirts, shirts, etc.Its consumption has increased from past few years. However its market share ismore in big and metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore and Pune. Big apparel manufacturers like Levis, Gap, and Nike have hita novel approach of buying organic cotton. Organic eco jeans from Levis and organic T-shirts from Nike and Gap have created a good consumer market to provethe major market turnover. Mills are now blending organic cotton intoconventional cotton process. Organic Consumers Association states that thedemand for organic clothing has doubled during the past year.


 

Issues of environmental safety, and health hazards mainly applies to the production process of cotton, one of the most popular and versatile fibres used in cloth manufacturing. Eco fashion appeals to people who live in urban environment. Trend setting, and designer fashions can attract a niche market, but it is the large companies which can create a lasting change in the marketplace. More the consumers know about the content of their clothing, bigger the market for organic clothing will grow. Organic clothing will be a major shift for the generation accustomed to buy clothes with a shopping cart.


References:


  1. &sec=article&uinfo=<%=server.URLEncode(1799)%>" target="_blank">http://www.ehponline.org
  2. &sec=article&uinfo=<%=server.URLEncode(1799)%>" target="_blank">http://www.organicconsumers.org