The second edition of Cottonscape 2012 that the Cotton Council International (CCI) organized at Mumbai recently was a glitzy celebrity attended event. In India since 2003 when CCI started promoting the use of cotton with the campaign called ‘The New Face of Cotton’, the CCI has held several promotions and events to highlight the beauty of the cotton fabrics including Let’s Design Contests held amongst fashion institute students for three consecutive years. Apparel Online Correspondent Meher Castelino, reports from Mumbai…
The highlight of Cottonscape 2012 was the three fashion shows by designers and labels that are loyal to cotton. Anita Dongre’s Grassroots label showcased casual and formal ethnic and western wear. Rina Dhaka displayed glamorous traditional and western gowns with embroidery and prints, while the Provogue brand rocked on the ramp with its Spring/Summer 2012 men’s and women’s lines. To add more zing to the evening, there were TV and Bollywood stars Rakesh Bapat, Geeta Basra and Jiah Khan who were the show stoppers.
The event also saw awards given to designers, Lecoanet-Hemant, Narendra Kumar, Masaba Gupta, Rahul Mishra and Fab India for their innovative promotion of cotton. A forecast presentation by Suna Hasan of Stylesight gave an interesting view of the coming trends for Autumn/Winter 2013. “This is the second time we are having Cottonscape and hope to continue on an annual basis as we feel it is important for cotton to have a platform in India. We strive to bring together the entire value chain from mills, manufacturers to brands, retailers and designers and the idea is to show them a viable consumer market for their product brands. It is not just a brand of cotton from the mills but that there is a consumer for their product, so we are bringing the industry together and addressing the challenges that face the cotton industry,” explained Agnieszka Fijol, President ABF Consulting LLC, representing Cotton Council International.
[bleft]Cotton Council International strives to bring together the entire value chain from mills, manufacturers to brands, retailers and designers and the idea is to show them a viable consumer market for their product brands. It is not just a brand of cotton from the mills but that there is a consumer for their product, so they are bringing the industry together and addressing the challenges that face the cotton industry. [/bleft]
“We are not looking at domestic or export industry in particular, but the cotton industry in general. India is the second largest producer of cotton in the world and surveys have shown that there is a strong domestic and export market as the Indian economy is one of the fastest growing in the world. The Indian consumer has been overlooked by many corporations as the final destination for their products which is a mistake. So we are saying to take note of what the consumer wants and strike to meet their needs,” continued Agnieszka.
She has also noticed that the cotton share in India has actually decreased in the last decades. “It was 80 per cent in the 1980s, which has slipped to 60 per cent today, and that is a fairly fast drop in a relatively short period of time. So that is why we as an industry thought we should step in and try to understand why that is happening. Are consumers not happy with cotton as a fibre and what can we do about it to turn that around?” says Agnieszka.
Agnieszka agreed that the cost of cotton had impacted demand, “Certainly the costs have affected cotton and we are looking at the cotton costs associated and inputs which definitely impacts the final product. Since this is the second year of the event, I was looking at recent numbers of the per capita consumption in India and I did see a slight upturn and in the forecasting of cotton consumption vs. manmade fibres the gap is narrowing which is very encouraging but I cannot say we can take the credit for it entirely but there is something to that.”
The intention of the event was to promote the use of cotton from the grassroots level to the consumer and here it was the panel discussion that gave some interesting insights into the business of cotton. It was however a little surprising, that a country with an ancient history and tradition of cotton fabrics which were the envy of the world now had to think of means and ways to promote the fibre which was its specialty centuries ago.
Prem Malik, Deputy Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, asked questions to an eminent panel comprising Dhiren Sheth, President, Cotton Association of India; Rahul Mehta, President, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India; designers Anita Dongre and Akhil Chaturvedi of Provogue.
“Cotton is known as “White Gold” and is suitable for Indian weather; while the world cotton vs. manmade fibre breakup is 30/70, in India it is 60/40. The cotton industry sustains 35-80 million people with every 7th Indian directly or indirectly connected to cotton. Exports have touched 85 per cent while domestic market is the opposite. So how can one promote cotton to the consumer and change their mind sets. In the West there was a time when cotton was down and manmade fabrics were up but they managed to arrest this. How can one do the same in India?” queried Prem Malik. “I am surprised cotton usage is decreasing because it can be used from day to evening wear if designed creatively,” stated Anita Dongre.
Rahul Mehta felt that to achieve the growth of cotton one has to go to the masses, not make it a rich man’s product which it is right now. “It is also difficult to maintain, has a lesser life compared to manmade fabrics which can be washed and used. Go to the polyester users and turn the marketing strategy upside down and market to non-cotton users but identify who you want to talk to. Also should cotton be pushed as “cool” and “hep” or should there be another strategy. Also each segment of the value chain knows the strengths and weaknesses of cotton, so the longevity has to be increased. A few years ago cotton had a tendency to crease but with the introduction of wrinkle free, sales of garments have shot up. Lycra has done a fabulous job of promoting their fibre and maybe we can learn from them,” observed Rahul Mehta.
“We have a twofold task before us. Firstly, build consumer awareness which is in a dismal state right now and secondly, push for demand and work on sub strategies. We need to tie up with primary, secondary, schools and colleges; as well as designers, textile, and management institutes to push cotton. Grassroots strategy, celeb endorsements, credibility as well as tie-ups with research institutes and value chains are necessary. Youngsters today, state that they don’t wear cotton but prefer jeans, which reveal their lack of knowledge. We have to talk on a common platform,” remarked Dhiren Sheth.
To push the discussion further Prem Malik asked the panel, “Consumers are the end users. So how should one involve them?” Here Akhil Chaturvedi admitted, “When Provogue started in 1999, we did not have cotton. Now 90 per cent of our collection is cotton based. We do different washes, cotton is versatile it has the essence of fashion, which is luxury. People are happy to wear cotton now. Make the fabric look cool. One can do so much with it. Cotton is too big and vast to be promoted as a fibre. Some of the properties of cotton should be promoted, something that touches the heart with an emotional hook. There may be a need to have a certified tag. Make it for the masses with attractive styles and prices,” added Anita.
The final outcome of the discussion was that all aspects of the value chain need to know the customer, catch them young and all stake holders need to work together to push this “White Gold” up the sales charts.
