Kasturi Cotton: India’s sustainable answer to global apparel

As India continues to be the second largest exporter of cotton, a raw material crucial in the making of several apparel and clothing items, cotton associations in the country are looking for sustainable methods of growing. The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, popularly known as TEXPROCIL, along with the Indian government are currently working on Kasturi cotton produced through sustainable methods.

Kasturi Cotton is the first of its kind joint initiative by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, in association with the Textile Trade Bodies and Industry, with the objective of branding and promoting the “Kasturi Cotton” brand to create premium value for cotton grown in India.

Jayesh Kakkad, deputy director of marketing, TEXPROCIL, told Fibre*Fashion in an interview at Bharat Tex that Kasturi Cotton Bharat has three pillars: quality, traceability, and sustainability. “Quality with the standardised specs … farm-level traceability and that too through a blockchain portal called KCTrack and for sustainability, we have a collaboration with BCI, Region Agree, Cotton Connect, and CTCVR,” he added.

“So, all the sustainable cotton growing in India, if it meets the specs and standards of Kasturi cotton. It will be certified as Kasturi cotton plus the sustainable cotton standard,” Kakkad mentioned.