Van Heusen Goes Green with Eco range

Van Heusen has launched a new line called the Eco line. The new environment friendly collection is an ode to the glory of the season. These are made from 100 per cent organic substances and are comfortable, stylish and elegant. There are different ranges for men and

women. This nature-friendly product has a range of formal, semi-formal and casual shirts. “Priced around Rs 1,500, we have launched this product at a subsidised rate. We are donating one per cent to an NGO and have absorbed the incremental cost and not taken it on the price. So we will make less money on this product than we do on other products,” says Shital Mehta, COO, Madura Garments. He believes the new range will help in building the brand’s equity.

The Eco range is made from 100 per cent organic cotton, which is grown in the most natural conditions. Care has been taken to ensure that no artificial or chemical substances are used. This ensures that soil cycles are protected, not just helping ecologically but also helping humanity at large. They have taken care of even the smallest things, something as small as weed removal has been done physically without any reliance on chemical weed killers. Balancing the population of insects by using trap crops to lure pests away is just another example of how committed Van Heusen is to its eco line of shirts.

Mehta elucidates, “We have hit on a business idea which can be fructified and commercialised. We turned what was a drawing board thing into reality. The shirts are absolutely a sold out. A month from now we may not even have anything left in our stores. And we can’t even make more because it’s a limited supply of cotton, which comes from a specific farm where nobody has used fertilizers and pesticides for three years.”

On every shirt purchased, Van Heusen will give 1 per cent to ‘Trees for Free’, an organization committed to increasing the green cover on this planet. The sole aim of their initiative is to plant and nurture trees in public spaces. Till date, they have planted over 17,000 saplings in Bangalore. In essence every Eco shirt purchased means more trees planted.

Mehta says the next stage is to phase out the use of paper bags and ensure each store has reusable jute bags. “Right now the awareness of global warming has increased. We have done a lot of things in this space — when we open a store we ensure we don’t cut the surrounding trees. We plant saplings around it and supply saplings to surrounding houses, telling them the Van Heusen store will be a responsible neighbour,” concludes Mehta.