New talk of the town

Though organic fashion is a new concept to most people but nowadays, ecological . clothing is gaining popularity worldwide. 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. Organic fashion means clothes, which have been made with a minimum use of chemicals and with minimum damage to the environment.These clothes are created through organic fabrics. 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 or with chemical pesticides. It doesn't mean that these organic farming do not require safety from weeds and fungus!

The weeds are removed by hand hoeing; using bio-pesticides and fertilizers, which are not made up of chemicals, does pest control. Right from sowing of seeds to harvesting, storing and processing, the methods used are traditional and natural. 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.This includes chemicals used during every step in the process, from growing cotton, to the dying and finishing of the fabric. Hence, using organic cotton could save about I /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.

Despite cotton being considered as natural crop, huge amount of pesticides and fertilizers are sprayed on cotton crops. Organic cotton is manufactured from organically grown cotton plants. No chemical pesticides or fertilisers are used to grow it, and the final cloth is unbleached and dyed with natural plant dyes. Thus, organic cotton is different from cotton grown by regular process.

Present scenario

Different types of garments are made from organic cotton thus, organic cotton consumption has increased from past few years. The fashion industry has an enormous impact on the environment. Many of the clothes we wear today are made from synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester. Nylon and polyester are made from petrochemicals, which are very polluting to the environment, causing global warming.They are also non-biodegradable, which means they don't break down easily and so are difficult to dispose of. In order to manufacture nylon, nitrous oxide is released as part of the process. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide and causes global warming.

In developing countries, more than 50% of all pesticides used in agriculture are sprayed onto cotton fields. These pesticides also affect local eco-systems, killing certain plants and animals and causing an imbalance. Also, the chemicals used to grow cotton remain in the fabric and are released during lifetime of the garments so they affect people wearing clothes too. Certain dyes are thought t 0 cause cancer.

In industrial countries like the USA & UK, cancer rates in cotton producing states are significantly higher than neighbour- ing states. Added to this, the effects of bleaching the final fabric, and possibly spraying it with a fireretardant, and your 'natural look' garment seem distinctly unnatural. In many parts of the world, garments are dyed or blea- ched using toxic chemicals without proper precautions; the chemicals used can then affect workers and flow into sewers and rivers, damaging local ecosystems.

Virtually all polycotton (especially bedlinen), plus all 'easy care', 'crease resistant', 'permanent press' cotton, are treated with the toxic chemical, formaldehyde. Hazardous chemicals are also used on wool - for example in sheep dips, where they have been linked with illness amongst sheep farmers. But organic wool is luxuriously warm for cool summer's evenings, and looks fantastic in naturally unbleached shades or dyed with organic plant dyes.

Unlike regular wool, organic wool is free from some particularly nasty irritant chemicals called organophosphates. In order to give organic clothing a boost, an open house session is arranged for designers, farmers, retailers, researchers, etc which is having significant role in cultivating, processing, manufacturing and selling the organic clothes. The above discussion might put forth the message that organic cotton is the latest invention and was not used before, but the reality is that such cotton was cultivated in old times also, and it was widely worn till 1950's. This movement gained momentum when 'Coop' which is the biggest retailer of ecological products in Europe, arranged the supply chain model of organic cotton.

Major Players

Brand image plays a vital role in endor- smg any new product in the con­sumer mar­ket. Many esteemed clothes brands have started usmg orga­nic fabrics In their collections For instance­ N i k e Patagonia, H&M and Timberland use some percent- age of organic fabrics in sports­wear. Some of international desi­gners like Rogan Gregory, Katherine Hamnett and S telI a McCartney use organic cotton in their designer outfits. The outdoor sportswear company, Patagonia initiated toward environmentilily conscious clothing. In 1993, it produced fleece made from recycled plastic soda bottles.The espousal to these designers & retailers are also enhanced, as today's health and environment conscious modem man not only emphasizes on the organic food, but also turning its attention towards organic clothing.

The global warming issue is a matter of anxiety, so the fasbion industry wanted to provide a helping hand in this regard. Celebrities and famous designers are encouraging environment friendly fashions. Companies like Nike, American Apparel and Eileen Fisher are promoting eco-friendly products. Organic cotton, wool, bamboo, even soybean and com-based fibers are used to manufacture clothes which can be seen on the ramps and in stores across North America. Levi's is selling 100 percent organic cotton jeans in its Red Tab and Capital E collections. Levi's signature 501 jeans are dyed with natural indigo. Levi's has plans to offer organic cotton jeans in more styles and collections next year.

Hemp denim was what the first Levi's jeans were made from. Levi's has also announced to launch a range of women and men jeans collection made up from 100% organic cotton. It would be named as Levi's Eco right now available in the U.S. stores of the company. It's hemp's wearability and natural style that makes it a favoured textile for multinational fashion companies like Giorgio Arrnani and Adidas .. In 2005, global sales of organic cotton products were doubled to $583 million from $245 million. This sale anticipated reaching $2.6 billion by 2008. Wal-Mart happens to be world's largest purchaser of organic cotton last year. Recently, H & M introduced a desirable fashion range for women, teens, children and babies.

The clothing line, featuring organically grown cotton, will be available in selected stores in all H & M markets from March 2007.. In order to increase the demand for organic cotton and thereby encourage cotton growers to convert to organic cultivation, H & M started to use organic cotton a few years ago. Organic cotton is cotton grown without the use of harmful pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The annual world production of organic cotton is still very limited and represents less than one per cent of all cotton. At the start, it was included mainly in a selection of babies' and children's garments.

Raymonds have introduced an entire range of garments made from bamboo fabrics. The shirts and trousers made from bamboo fabric possess anti-bacterial and anti-static property, they bave extra capacity to retain moisture thus in summer season the wearer would experience cool even under scorching heat. The trousers made from bamboo fibers could be worn as a formal as well as non- formal wear. they give the look of linen trousers, which looks very elegant and fashionable.

Raymonds also uses soybean fabrics in their trendy clothes line, as this fabric provides extra shine and moisture absorbing property. They have also introduced a fibre called Casein made from combination of milk protein, super l20s wool and silk.It is used for making suiting-shirting and jackets. An international brand named BSC has launched their collection of organic towels in India. They are even planning to launch kidswear and home furnishing range in 2007 -2008. Some private labels also have experienced success and overwhelming response in organic clothing. One such name is 'Aura Herbal Wear' based in Ahmedabad city of India. They have a wide. range of organic fabrics of cotton, linen, silk, etc. made from medicinal herbs and dyed witb herbal.dyes..

Future Scope

Wearing organic clotbes is more popular among upper-middle class and high- class people. It is the latest fashion fad. But considering it, as a would not serve the purpose of ecological conservation, therefore people should realize its benefits and make it a regular wear.Despite of the low market share in clothing industry, on an average organic clothes demand is growing at the rate of 30% per year, which is quite encouraging.If the demand increases, the production would be increased, as a result the overall production costs will decrease. Also, clothes made from, organic fabrics are easy to maintain and clean. So, globally designers are working towards making these clothes more appealing, fashionable and economical .

Down the line, People would be a spotted wearing trendy and stylish outfits madeup of organic cotton and fabrics. embroidery applique or laces with unique color combinations attracts many buyers. Jute tablemats have a good market, being user friendly and buyers find the natural golden color of jute quite attractive. Mats highlighted with coloured threads are quite popular from India.