SRS joins Arvind to create khadi denim

Rajkot-based Saurashtra Rachnatmak Samiti is signing a MoU

with Aivind to supply khadi denim fabric to the company. It would supply at least 5,000 meters of khadi denim to the country’s largest denim maker. Sources claim that the MoU between the two is likely to be signed soon, since SRS wants to start supplying khadi denim from ‘Labh Panchami’, the fifth day from Diwali (i.e. October 31, 2011). Khadi denim is a hand-spun and hand-woven cotton fabric with 12-count twisted thread.

Though the demand from Arvind is about 20,000 meters of khadi denim per month, due to lack of skilled manpower, SRS would initially begin with supplying 5,000 meters a month. Gradually, it aims to supply20,000 meters per month. SRS has already submitted a draft of the MoU to Arvind for final approval. The fabric pricing will be based on the central government’s pricing norms and will be finalised after the final nod from company officials. Due to the extensive manual process of khadi denim production, prices would be higher compared to normal cotton fabric produced at a mill.

Arvind, the flagship company of Ahmedabad-based Lalbhai Group, will market ‘denim khadi’ at a global level. The company has sent samples of denim khadi to a few high-end consumers in Japan and Europe. At the Paris Fashion Show organised in December 2010, Arvind had marketed the innovative khadi denim quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s views about the conventional fabric.