In a reaffirmation of khadi's global popularity, a leading international fashion brand has placed a second order for purchasing khadi denim fabric.

Patagonia, the US-based fashion brand, has placed a repeat order for purchasing khadi denim fabric, which comes as a global appreciation of khadi’s world class product quality and punctuality in fulfilling the supply order.

In March this year, Patagonia, through textile giant Arvind Mills, placed an order for purchasing 17,050 metres of khadi denim fabric worth nearly Rs 80 lakh from Udyog Bharti, a Rajkot-based khadi institution in Gujarat.

The repeat order comes after the successful completion of the previous order for 30,000 metres of khadi denim fabric worth Rs 1.08 crore. Patagonia, is using the handcrafted khadi denim fabric for making denim apparels.

In July 2017, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) signed an agreement with Arvind Mills Limited, Ahmedabad, to trade khadi denim products around the world. Since then, Arvind Mills has been purchasing a large quantity of the fabric every year from KVIC-certified khadi institutions of Gujarat. With the latest order, the total khadi denim purchase by Patagonia has gone up to 47,000 metres worth nearly Rs 1.88 crore.

Lauding the development, KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said the repeat order from Patagonia was a result of khadi denim’s outstanding quality that matched all international standards.

He said while supplying the order, special attention was given on maintaining the highest quality standards, uniformity of the product and timely supply of the fabric. The previous order was executed exactly in 12 months’ time as per the schedule. The repeat order for khadi denim has reaffirmed that khadi is an apt example of ‘local to global’ as envisaged by the Prime Minister, he added.

The purchase of khadi denim fabric is also creating extra man hours for khadi artisans of Gujarat. In all, the purchase of khadi denim by Patagonia has created additional 3 lakh man hours of work for khadi artisans.

Last year, a team from Patagonia visited Udyog Bharti, a khadi institution based in Gondal, Rajkot (Gujarat) to see the manufacturing process of khadi denim.

Impressed by the manufacturing process and quality of the khadi denim fabric, Patagonia, through Arvind Mills, placed the purchase orders for different quantities of khadi denim fabric.

Before finalising the purchases, Patagonia appointed NEST, a US-based global third-party assessor, to assess the complete process of denim production at Gondal, ie, spinning, weaving, carding, dying, wage payments, age-verification of workers, etc, involved in production line.

The NEST, after thorough assessment of all parameters at Udyog Bharti, stated in the certificate that “The spinning and handloom weaving operations are now eligible for the NEST Seal of Ethical Handcraft”. This is for the first time that a khadi institution in the country has been assessed and certified by an international independent assessor for meeting ethical standards in its operations.

The order is for four types of denim fabric which is made of 100 per cent cotton having width from 28-inch to 34-inch.