This festival season, Co-optex will be launching a range of ahimsa pattu sarees to cater to a niche market that shuns silk as conventional production requires killing silk worms. Usually, once the worm has spun the cocoon, which is later used to make yarn for silk, it is dropped in water and killed so that the yarn is continuous.
In the ahimsa variety, the silkworm is allowed to mature and escape its cocoon. Since the cocoon is broken, the yarn is discontinuous, and also lacks the lustre of the silk made by ensuring the cocoon is not broken.
Since by its nature ahimsa silk would be coarse, the Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society, popularly known as Co-optex, has decided to use threadwork instead of the usual zari embellishment.
“We are looking at ahimsa pattu in two ways — as regular corporate wear that is easy to maintain and as something that is not jazzy but elegant,” said Co-optex managing director T.N. Venkatesh.
15 looms identified
Co-optex has identified 15 looms that would weave only ahimsa pattu . The weavers of these looms have traditionally been doing threadwork on sarees and they have been asked to continue. The society has given them select designs. “They are happy to oblige,” Mr. Venkatesh said.
Ahimsa pattu was the result of a survey among customers during its exhibition on vintage Kancheepuram silks, officials said. “We got feedback from those in the 25-35 age group who wanted to wear silk but said they wanted sustainable clothing. The market for ahimsa pattu would initially be in cities such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru and Mumbai,” an official said.
The silk would be priced higher as the yarn cost for ahimsapattu is twice that of normal silk.
Each month, Co-optex would be selling only around 50 sarees, the officials added.
