Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 17, 2007
ePaper
Online edition of India's National Newspaper Monday, Dec 17, 2007 ePaper |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tamil Nadu |
|
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary |
Tamil Nadu
Organic cotton provides better yield It is less harmful to users CHENNAI: When an Italian buyer failed to lift the promised quantity of ‘organic’ cotton seeds from the tribal people of Sittilingi valley, they were left with few options as the prices kept falling. But officials of the Tribal Health Initiative (THI), a registered charitable trust, stepped in and approached Co-optex for help. The result was emergence of ‘organic shirt’ by Co-optex. It is an environment-friendly shirt and can be worn by those who are allergic to chemicals. Sittilingi is home to around 10,000 tribal people spread over 22 villages in Dharmapuri district. Most of them own a small piece of land and their main occupation is agriculture. Currently, 200 tribal people are involved in cotton production.“It took nearly two years for us to convince them to grow organic cotton as it provided better yield, better margins and was less harmful to users. After having learnt the benefits they started to experiment it with pulses, cereals, turmeric and chilli. They don’t know how to market it and that’s where we step in,” THI officials told The Hindu on Saturday. Organic shirts have already gained an entry in Europe. But, in India it is yet to catch the attention of textile and fabric manufacturers. It is preferred by the users, as pesticides and non-toxic chemicals are not used in it right from the beginning. “Having learnt about the introduction of organic shirts in the European market, we decided to give it a try. The availability of 5 tonnes of organic cotton fitted our bill. We paid Rs. 37 a kg. Later, we shifted it to Bharatiyar Spinning Mill in Ettayapuram for ginning and converting it into 50’s yarn,” said M.P. Nirmala, Co-optex Special Officer and Managing Director. Around 90 per cent of the quantity would be used for making shirts and the balance for making non-allergic towels, bed sheets, bed spreads, pillow covers and handkerchiefs. “Recently, we launched aroma shirts and reversible shirts that have become hugely successful. We are happy with our new product. But, we are still fine tuning it as it has to meet our parameters. It would be put on sale from January 15 at various Co-optex outlets in the State. These shirts will be priced around Rs 300,” she added.
Printer friendly
page
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | Publications | eBooks | Images | Home |
Copyright © 2007, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
