The Hindu : Business : Bid to give commercial shape to herbal dyeing concept

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005

Business

Business

Bid to give commercial shape to herbal dyeing concept

Staff Reporter

Patent holder urges KINFRA to provide two acres of land

KANNUR: Mudappathi Balakrishnan, the holder of a patent for dyeing fabrics with herbal extractions, is in right earnest about giving a commercial form to a concept he has been spearheading over a decade. The trial herbal cloth processing unit that he has set up here demonstrates his single-mindedness in making the idea practical.

The trial unit has already begun sample production of herbal cloth materials for exhibiting in international handloom fabric textiles fare and observing the international buyers' response to the products. The unit was inaugurated by A. P. Abdullakutty, MP, last month.

"Before we establish a large-scale production unit, we need to know how acceptable is the idea of herbal fabric to the international buyer,'' says Mr. Balakrishnan, who has already requested to KINFRA for two acres of land at the integrated textile centre being developed at Nadukani here under the Central Government-aided Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme. His plan is to set up a small commercial plant at Nadukani for the production of herbal cloth. The plant is estimated to cost Rs.40 to Rs.50 lakhs, he says.

Mr. Balakrishnan is seeking to highlight the healing effect of the herbal dyes on the user of the cloth as the ingredients used for dyeing extraction are medicinal herbs. His focus, therefore, is on manufacture of undergarments and bedsheets which, he believes, can discharge herbal properties useful for the body.

Medicinal value

"I am projecting medicinal values of the dyes used and not their colour fastness,'' says Mr. Balakrishnan. Acknowledging the importance of standardising herbal cloth products to attract consumers in the international market, he says that the standardisation will ensure that herbal cloth is not identified as any other fabric dyed with vegetable dyes. He is in favour of a system of certification from a reputed bio-chemical laboratory that can confirm the presence of specified herbal property in the fabric. He has sent proposals to the Government for arranging a laboratory here to test and certify the herbal properties of the fabrics.

The herbal ingredients used for making the dyeing extraction are turmeric, Indian madder, sweet basil, lime, wild turmeric, henna, curry leaf tree, adalotakam, Indian indigo, Indian aloe, karingali, ramacham and chakkarakkolli. Also used are herbal fruits that are available in different parts of the country.

According to Mr. Balakrishnan, commercial success of the concept of herbal cloth can also promote cultivation of herbal ingredients required for making the extractions. Most of the herbals can be cultivated in short period, he says .

As the herbal fabric is expected to cost four times that of the normal cotton fabric, the focus should be on how to place the product in the niche market, he says.

Stressing the importance of initial Government support for making the idea successful, he says that if he can exhibit his trial products in the international fairs and get good response, he can approach the Government for promoting the idea, he adds.

Unlike chemical dyes, herbal dyes do not cause contamination of water resources in areas close to processing units. Green business with green earth is the motto that Mr. Balakrishnan wants to highlight.

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