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| Brand Khadi: Moves from Sabarmati to the wild west |
| Rutam Vora And Vinay Umarji / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad Aug 22, 2011, 00:39 IST |
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When one wears Khadi, he wears freedom. Person who possess attitude of simple and contented life, wears Khadi. Life's freedom lies in simplicity and contentment -- Mahatma Gandhi once said about the hand-spun, hand-woven cotton fabric. Thanks to Arvind Ltd., this Gandhi's fabric is now going indigo...and global.
The company is working with weavers in Gujarat to develop and market 'Khadi Denim', samples of which have already been sent to high end consumers in Japan and Europe. In fact, at the December 2010 Paris Fashion Show, Arvind extensively marketed the innovative Khadi Denim quoting Mahatma Gandhi's aforementioned views about the conventional fabric.
This, when making denim variety is not new to the Khadi organisations in Gujarat. Khadi Denim was first developed by Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti, a khadi organisation located in Rajkot way back in mid-1990s. After over a decade now Khadi Denim's market penetration has been minuscule. Portrayed as a tool for self-reliance during India's freedom struggle, Khadi remained dormant as far as denim variety was concerned; thanks to several ideological conflicts and limited marketing resources of Khadi organisations.
But recently, as part of its R&D, denim major Arvind Ltd. approached Gujarat State Khadi Gramodyog Board (Khadi Board) to seek support for developing Khadi Denim for the company. "They approached Khadi Board and we took them to Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti in Rajkot to showcase the mechanism of Khadi denim making. They asked for a few samples and made garments from it. In December 2010, they show-cased these garments in Paris Fashion Show held in France, where everyone was excited about revived Khadi. The company officials came back to us with a proposal to join hands for Khadi Denim," says Deepak Patel, development officer, Khadi Board.
Having approached the Khadi Board, Arvind suggested several enhancement in handloom as well as production process. Over several months, the team from Arvind worked with the weavers in the hinterlands of Saurashtra and other regions of Gujarat, right from spinning, weaving and dyeing.
Now, Arvind Limited is not only hand-holding Khadi making units for this new variety, it is also reaping benefits in the international market from Khadi's sentimental value. "Globally, Khadi is linked to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy. It cannot have large commercial value. Rather, Khadi denim has a high fashion value as well as sentiment value," says Subir Mukherjee, head - marketing (denim) and export commercial, Arvind Ltd., who is also looking at the European and the US markets.
However, even as it works with these units, Arvind has list out several technical specifications for the Khadi Denim, which will be made from a 12-count twisted thread and died in blue with a natural indigo specially supplied by Arvind. The fabric will have a width of 27 inches against a normal width of 54 inches and will have a red thread specially placed on the boarder marking a signature of Arvind Brand.
Since, Khadi essentially is a handmade fabric, the volume of production is a concern for Arvind. "Arvind's demand is 50,000 metres of denim cloth per month but presently, we do not have such large production capacity. So, we are shifting more weavers towards denim making from conventional khadi cloth. At Gondal, we aim to produce 900 meters of denim per month two months from now," says Chandrakant Patel, secretary, Udyog Bharti, Gondal, one of the 10 organisations from Gujarat that have agreed to produce Khadi Denim for Arvind.
The Denim major will make the most of its global brand entity to market the new innovation in Khadi. "We are working with the weavers to develop the product. We will also be marketing the product, apart from being involved in product design and product development," says Mukherjee.
To market Khadi Denim, Arvind is looking more at overseas markets. Arvind's partnership for this highly rural-oriented model of Khadi industry is expected to go a long way. "This is a win-win situation for all of us. While Arvind will get Khadi Denim added to its product portfolio, it would generate lasting employment for artisans including weavers, spinners and dyers in villages," says Ajay Doshi, general manager, Samanvay Khadi Gramodyog Sangh, Rajkot.
For those concerned about the philosophical idea behind Khadi, coming under threat with Arvind tie-up, experts believe that there is much to gain than to lose.
"Khadi Denim would be a convenient way to make Khadi popular among youth. So far, Khadi has remained passive for young market segment and there had been many reasons for that. Roping in corporates like Arvind in no way dilute Khadi's philosophy of self-reliance rather it would complement," informs Devendra Desai, veteran Gandhian and president of Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti, Rajkot.
Ask brand experts, how can Khadi make headway among youths and he has a one word answer - modernisation. "Blending Khadi with denim will only bring in more fashion element and will result into what we can call 'modern Khadi'. This could be revival of Khadi wherein cusp of garments related to Khadi can make it more popular among youngsters. In fact, denim is a good beginning for Khadi making headways into the young generation," explains Harish Bijoor, chief executive officer of Harish Bijoor Consults and a branding and marketing expert.
Marketed by Arvind, Khadi Denim is expected to be placed in a premium segment of Denim garments. While Arvind is believed to charge anywhere between Rs 800 to Rs 1000 per meter for Khadi Denim in the international market, the weavers will too get their fair share of earnings. According to sources close to development, Khadi organisations are likely to charge Arvind anywhere in the range of Rs 200-250 per meter of Khadi Denim.
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