Indian cotton textiles have earned their place in the world market. Recently organic cotton production and organic fabric manufacturing has received a great amount of attention as an ecologically friendly alternative to cotton cultivation and processing.
Therefore, in 2008 the BESTSELLER FUND began an ecological project in collaboration with Upasana Design Studio and the Covenant Centre for Development (CCD). The purpose of the project was to produce a fully organic fabric in various villages south of Madurai in India. The project is currently phasing out; however the timeline went as follows:
2008 The project commenced
- 2009 A minimal quantity of cotton was produced
2010 The was recognized as fair-trade cotton
2011 Part of the harvest was classified as organic-
From organic cotton to organic fabric
In most cases organic cotton production is certified organic but the organic certificate only covers the growing of the cotton. The fabric produced from this cotton is no longer considered organic. This project aimed attempting to maintain the organic certification right until the final product was delivered. So that production would be organic and the ginning, spinning, dyeing, weaving process would be organic and therefore the final product would be completely organic.
Inspire farmers and improve the weaving community
The project did not only focus on the production of organic cotton but also on organizing a federation of farmers exclusively involved in organic cotton production. This was to boost the agricultural profession, in regards to the production of organic cotton.