Gujarat is the land of Mahatma and Khadi. Yet again the State is making headlines for its rich fabric. Leading US-based fashion brand Patagonia has purchased nearly 30,000 metres of khadi denim fabric worth Rs 1.08 crore for its apparels from Rajkot, Gujarat. The material will be shipped to the US to be retailed into designs chosen by the fashion house.
In 2017, an agreement between Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and the Arvind Mills led to huge business opportunities for both. While the textile major sourced khadi denim from the Gondal-based center, it obviously also popularised the fabric across the world.
The Sunday trade with US-based Patagonia for 30,000 metres of the fabric would mean Rs 1.08 crore for KVIC. “This initiative will boost khadi artisans in Gujarat and also fulfil the Prime Minister’s dream of local to global. We had to put in an additional 1.80 lakh man hours to deliver the order placed in October 2020.Hard work paid off and we were able to stick to the scheduled 12-months timeframe,” stated a KVIC release.
KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena informed that Patagonia did a recce with strict evaluation of the quality of spinning, weaving, carding, dyeing, wage payment and also age verification of workers. A global third-party was employed for the assessment. “Khadi denim is the only handcrafted weave to have gained worldwide popularity. It has a superior comfort factor while being organic and eco-friendly,” he added.
