IMPRESSIONS from a Cross-section

When we got started working in Organic Textiles back in 2005, there were hardly any players in the industry. A couple of mills in India and may be a couple in Turkey were processing this fabric predominantly as a small percent blend with regular cotton for big brands like Nike, who wanted to perhaps contribute to the environment in their own way.

Things have, however, changed over the last 7 years. The industry has at times grown over 70% annually and a number of companies, industry experts, certifying agencies, and processors in the entire value chain have emerged. We too have hung on to our original idea of manufacturing certified organic cotton products.

With this growth and perhaps a lucrative opportunity for some, the word “Organic” has been abused to quite an extent. A lot of people don’t know what Organic means or the difference between Natural and Organic, or even the concept of sustainable. Just because it is the buzz word around, they use it.

This is where third party certification agencies bring in some sanity. They try to certify the entire value chain, so by the time you get your t-shirt from the local organic store in British Columbia, the cotton, the dyes, the knitting, the garmenting, the printing, and the final product have all passed through a chain of documents wherein if the end consumer wants, can track which farm produced the cotton for their comfy t-shirt.

Us Indians may not have been exposed to the Organic Cotton at the consumer level, but at the industry level, India is the largest producer of Organic Cotton in the World. And, the output is growing.

As consumers in India, we are still absorbing the onslaught of brands selling the regular stuff, so sustainable apparel would probably have to become a more mainstream product. Another development which seems to be quite apparent globally is that “Organic” alone may not be a selling point anymore. Consumers are demanding that the garment be more design oriented, and have other aspects to it than just being made from Organic Cotton.

(Contd.)

As a manufacturer who deals with various brands in the organic field, we have to constantly work with one single challenge – MOQs(minimum order quantities), the organic buyer is a niche buyer, which everyone understands, the end consumer who buys organic, does not just buy it for it being “Organic” , they want more colours, more prints, embroideries - more variety!

On the other hand, mills that produce organic fabrics have created huge infrastructures and overheads, and therefore large minimums to support their capacities. But the brands are unable to offer those types of quantities since western economies have been sluggish off late, and also the brands selling ‘organic only’ are traditional smaller enterprises.

The big high street brands have added organic to their lines, but a lot of consumers may not look at them as a brand necessarily going the organic way.

Since the Indian retail market is growing rapidly, and at least a certain percentage of this large population is already in the category of the conscious consumer, moreover, the average Joe is also becoming more aware, so the future is bright for investors, but, the brand must possess a USP apart from being just an “organic brand”.

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