US fashion brand Patagonia has placed an order to purchase 17,050 metres of Khadi Denim fabric worth nearly Rs 80 lakh, returning once again to buy the India-made fabric for the American market. The Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises said Patagonia placing a repeat order “comes as a global appreciation of Khadi’s world class product quality and punctuality in fulfilling the supply order”. Patagonia placed the purchase order from Rajkot-based Khadi institution Udyog Bharti through textile giant Arvind Mills.
The order comes following the completion of a previous order for 30,000 metres of Khadi Denim fabric worth Rs 1.08 crore. The latest order takes Patagonia’s total Khadi Denim purchase to 47,000 metres worth Rs 1.88 crore. The order is for four types of Denim fabric, made of 100% cotton. Patagonia uses the handcrafted fabric to make Denim apparel.
A Patagonia team visited Udyog Bharti last year to see the Khadi Denim manufacturing process. After assessing the manufacturing process and quality, Patagonia placed the purchase orders through Arvind Mills.
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission signed an agreement with Arvind Mills in July 2017 to trade Khadi Denim products around the world. Since then, the textile giant has purchased a large quantity of the fabric every year from commission-certified Khadi institutions in Gujarat.
Commission Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said the repeat order was a result of the Denim’s outstanding quality that matched international standards. Special attention was paid to maintain the highest quality, product uniformity, and timely supply while supplying the order, he said.
The previous order was executed in 12 months. The repeat order has reaffirmed Khadi as an example of ‘Local to Global’, as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saxena said.
These orders also create extra man hours for Gujarat’s Khadi artisans. In all, Patagonia’s purchase has created 3 lakh additional man hours for artisans.
