Clusters of weavers from Aruppukottai are slowly but steadily making inroads into the production of organic saris for the Tamil Nadu Handloom Weaver’s Society or Cooptex.
Organic saris, which are being increasingly marketed by Cooptex, are at present being manufactured by weaver clusters in Paramakudi and Dindigul in addition to the cluster in Arupukottai. The Tamil Nadu Handloom Weaver’s Society is the only society in India which is manufacturing organic textiles. Lakshmi Narasingarao, Manager, Design and Production at Cooptex, said that the saris were made primarily of organically grown cotton.
“They are then either dyed with Azo-free dyes, which are devoid of harmful chemicals or are dyed with natural dyes such as plant and flower extracts,” he explained.
Since the saris were made of wholly natural materials, they were said to be safe for the skin as well, he added.
In Arupukottai, organic saris are being weaved at present by four clusters of weavers. “We have been weaving organic saris for the last six months and the procurement for them had been steady. While there was not much of a change when it came to the labour involved with regard to organic and normal saris, it took us about two days to weave one sari and we got daily wages of Rs.410,” said M. Kayamozhi, a weaver from the Nam Naadu Cluster. While the clusters in Dindigul are weaving organic saris with embroidery and intricate thread work, the weavers at Aruppukottai are weaving only simple saris.
“The weavers are now being trained in more intricate designs and will begin them soon as the designs made in Dindigul are of high demand now,” an official said. At the ongoing Deepavali sale at MADITSSIA Hall in Madurai, Cooptex salespersons said after silk saris, the organic ones were in demand as they were preferred for being trendy.
