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By: Fibre2Fashion.Com Introduction
Ecological clothing is gaining popularity day-by-day. Many skin diseases and health hazards occur due to wearing of fabrics which are cultivated and processed by usage of pesticides and synthetic dyes. People now consider eco-clothes as fashionable and trendy. It has been calculated that the amount of cotton used to make a standard size t-shirt, is treated with a considerable amount of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Using organic cotton could save about 1/3rd of the total amount of pesticides and fertilizers used. The people who understand the benefits of using organic fabrics are ready to shed that extra penny also. It was found that despite cotton being considered as natural crop, huge amount of pesticides and fertilizers are sprayed on cotton crops.
 Thus organic cotton is different from cotton grown by regular process. The fabrics that are grown without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides are known as organic fabrics. For example- fabrics made up of soy, natural silk, bamboo, linen and cotton can be grown naturally. In organic farming of cotton, the seeds are not treated genetically nor with chemical pesticides. It doesnt mean that these organic farming do not require safety from weeds and fungus! The weeds are removed by hand hoeing, pest control is done by using bio-pesticides and fertilizers which are not made up of chemicals. Right from sowing of seeds to harvesting, storing and processing, the methods used are traditional and natural.
Present scenario
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 is more in big and metropolitan cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore and Pune. Due to various ill-effects of chemically treated cotton fabrics on our skin, many NGOs, farmer groups and designers have began to spread its awareness amongst the common public. Organizations like Maharashtra organic farmers association, Vidarbha organic farmers association, etc offer help to cultivate such crops or themselves do it.
In order to give organic clothing a boost an open house session is arranged for designers, farmers, retailers, researchers, etc having significant role in cultivating, processing, manufacturing and selling the organic clothes. Here Indian people associated with this field meet people from other countries. They share their ideas, viewpoints and discuss over how to improvise the whole process right from cultivation to selling of finished products. To start organic farming, farmers should have certification for it. But the main drawback which comes in the way of increased sales of organic fabrics is its- high price. Its price is double than the normal cotton fabric.
Rotative mode of cultivation is done for growing organic cotton which is a costly process. Moreover the total amount of cotton produced by such process yields 14-20% less crop in comparison to crops grown by using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Wearing organic clothes is more popular among upper-middle class and high- class people. It is the latest fashion fad. But considering it as a fashion would not serve the purpose of ecological conservation, therefore people should realize its benefits and make it a regular wear. If the demand increases the production would be increased, as a result the overall production costs will decrease.
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