Chennai: To beat Chennai’s rising heat, Tamil Nadu Handloom Weaver’s Society (Co-optex) has come up with organic sarees dyed with natural and vegetable colours that have medicinal properties and provide relief from the heat. These organic sarees are made of pure cotton, which are grown on fields without the use of insecticides or pesticides unlike most cotton, said T.N. Venkatesh, managing director of Co-Optex. “It is very healthy for skin as it has soft texture and gives a lot of relief from perspiration,” he said.
He explained how fine organic cotton yarn is dyed with natural extracts obtained from flowers, leaves, seeds such as turmeric, clitoriaternates, ecliptes, alba leaves, karungali wood, musa sapientum, floral bract, annatto seeds and many others.The sarees are available at a price range from Rs 3,000 4,000 each. “The sarees available in the outlets of the leading private producers are very expensive ranging from Rs 7,000 - 8,000,” he said. The sales of organic sarees was launched in February with the support of 30 weavers at Vedambacheri in Coimbatore. But after three months the number of weavers has increased to 250.
Also, convincing and motivating weavers took time as weaving organic cotton requires much more physical hard work and time than otherwise, Mr Venkatesh said. “Our clientele belongs to the 45 plus age category but we also want to target 25 plus age group. We did a research in all the Southern states as well as in Maharashtra. The demand for organic product as well as niche product is high prompting us to start this venture,” he said.
