From Sabarmati to the Wild West

Mahatma Gandhi’s khadi — the hand-spun, hand-woven cotton fabric is now going indigo and international, courtesy Arvind Ltd.

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. At the December 2010 Paris Fashion Show, Arvind extensively marketed the innovative khadi denim quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s views about the conventional fabric.

Denim is however not new to the Khadi organisations in Gujarat. Khadi denim was first developed by Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti, a khadi organisation in Rajkot in mid-1990s. In over a decade, khadi Denim’s market penetration has been limited due to limited marketing resources of these organisations.

Denim major Arvind Ltd approached Gujarat State Khadi Gramodyog Board to help develop the fabric. “They approached the Khadi Board and we took them to Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti in Rajkot to show how Khadi denim is made. They asked for a few samples and made garments from it. In December 2010, they show-cased these garments in the Paris Fashion Show, where everyone was excited about the product. Company officials came back to us with a proposal to join hands for Khadi Denim,” says Deepak Patel, development officer, Khadi Board.

Arvind has suggested certain changes to the present method, including an upgraded version of the looms from two paddles to four. For this, Arvind’s R&D team had to work with the weavers to manufacture thicker denim fabric for several months in the hinterlands of Saurashtra and other regions of the state.

“Globally, khadi is linked to Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy. Khadi denim also has a high fashion value as well as sentiment value,” says Subir Mukherjee, head-marketing (denim) and export commercial, Arvind Ltd, who is eyeing the European and the US markets.

Since, Khadi essentially is handmade, production volumes is a cause for concern for the company.

“Arvind’s demand is 50,000 metres of denim cloth per month but at present, we do not have such large production capacity. So, we are shifting more weavers to denim making from conventional khadi cloth. At Gondal, we aim to produce 900 meters per month in the nest two months,” said Chandrakant Patel, secretary of Udyog Bharti in Gondal — one of the 10 organisations from Gujarat that have agreed to produce Khadi Denim for Arvind.

Arvind’s partnership with the rural model of the Khadi industry is expected to go a long way. The mutual dependence between the two would not only strengthen Arvind’s presence in the denim space, but also provide sustainable employment to the weavers. “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,” said 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 will be a convenient way to make Khadi popular among the youth. So far, Khadi has remained passive for the young market segment. Roping in corporates like Arvind will in no way dilute Khadi’s philosophy of self-reliance,” said Devendra Desai, veteran Gandhian and president of Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti, Rajkot. According to industry sources, Arvind is expected to fix the price of the Khadi Denim between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 per meter in the international market and the weavers are going to get a fair share of the earnings.