Khadi, the symbol of sustainability and purity, has made significant progress in the world of fashion. Patagonia, the world’s largest fashion brand based in the United States, is now using handcrafted Khadi Denim fabric to create denim garments.
Patagonia has purchased over 30,000 metres of Khadi Denim Fabric from Gujarat for Rs 1.08 crore from textile giant Arvind Mills.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Arvind Mills Limited, Ahmadabad, signed an agreement in July 2017 to trade Khadi Denim products over the world.
Arvind Mills has been purchasing a substantial quantity of Khadi Denim fabric from KVIC-certified Khadi institutes in Gujarat every year since then. This new KVIC programme not only creates additional man hours for Gujarat’s Khadi artisans, but it also fulfils the Prime Minister’s aim of “Local to Global.” Patagonia’s purchase of Khadi Denim resulted in an increase of 1.80 lakh man hours, or 27,720 man days, of labour for Khadi craftspeople.
The order was placed in October 2020, and it was completed 12 months later, in October 2021, as scheduled.
KVIC, Chairman, Vinai Kumar Saxena said Khadi has evolved into the most fashionable and trendsetting wearable even as it retains its original values of being the most sustainable and eco-friendly fabric in the world.
“Khadi Denim is the only handcrafted Denim fabric in the world which has gained wide popularity in the country and abroad. Khadi Denim is increasingly being used by leading fashion brands owing to the superior quality, comfort, organic and eco-friendly qualities of the fabric. Khadi Denim is an apt example of ‘Local to Global’ as envisaged by the PM,” Saxena said.
Patagonia sent a team to Udyog Bharti, a Khadi Institution in Gondal, Rajkot (Gujarat), to observe the manufacturing process of Khadi Denim last year. Patagonia placed purchase orders for different quantities of Khadi Denim fabric through Arvind Mills after being impressed by the manufacturing process and quality of the handcrafted Khadi Denim fabric.
The order is for four types of Denim fabric which is made of 100% cotton having width from 28-inch to 34-inch.
Before finalising the purchases, Patagonia hired NEST, a US-based global third-party assessor, to evaluate the entire Denim production process at Gondal, including spinning, weaving, carding, dying, wage payments, worker age verification, and so on. “The spinning and handloom weaving operations are now eligible for the NEST Seal of Ethical Handcraft,” the NEST stated in the certificate, after a thorough assessment of all parameters at Udyog Bharti. This is the first time in the country that an international independent assessor has assessed and certified a Khadi Institution for meeting ethical standards in its operations.