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When Mani Chinnaswamy, an MBA graduate from the US, took over his family business of cotton mills, little did he know that he would be instrumental in bridging the gap between cotton farming and the world of fashion. Being a third-generation inheritor of the family business in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, he could have just continued doing what his predecessors had done — buy cotton from suppliers for his mill. Period. But, that was not Mani. He wanted to popularise cotton, the fabric India is known for. His decision was ably supported by his wife Vijayalakshmi Nachiar, a textile expert. However, he was shocked to see that cotton farming had gone the genetically modified (GM) way, for reasons aplenty — poor quality of soil due to the overuse of fertilisers, subsequent low yield, debts, farmer suicides...
“It was shocking to see that the organic farming culture was almost lost, in just 10 years. Farmers had to be led back to organic farming, and assured every kind of support possible,” says Mani. In effect, they zeroed in on H D Kote in Karnataka as the ideal place to put their plans into action as “the climate in H D Kote is best suited for cotton cultivation, especially of the extra-long staple variety.”
They bought native seeds from the Karnataka State Seeds Corporation, and encouraged the farmers in H D Kote, on the banks of River Kabini, to take the organic route. “The farmers in H D Kote needed some convincing as they had turned to GM crops for better yield. Generally, it takes around three years for a farm to be labelled organic,” he says.
Two other reasons that prompted them to encourage the organic cultivation of cotton were to improve the ranking of Indian cotton in the international market where it was perceived to be one of the most contaminated, and to free farmers from the clutches of middlemen.
“It was also sad to note that these farmers were totally dependent on middlemen for the marketing of their produce, who in turn would pocket the profits, leaving the farmers with nothing to cheer about. We wanted to bridge the gap between the farmers and us, by doing away with the middlemen menace. We offer the farmers a minimum support price for the produce, and not a pre-fixed price,” he says.
Accordingly, they entered into contract farming with the farmers, assuring them that all the cotton they cultivate would be bought by them. Even earlier, Mani had worked with the farmers who cultivated conventional cotton in Mundgod, Uttara Kannada district, on contract farming basis, and had tasted success. He now wanted to replicate the same model with the farmers in H D Kote, with organic cotton. He also took it upon himself to offer any kind of support the farmers would need, with the procurement of native seeds, farming inputs, certification, and so on.
Thus began the organic cultivation story. However, the story doesn’t end here. Enter Vijayalakshmi, who decided that the organic cotton thus cultivated should be woven into fabrics. So was born Ethicus, the brand. “Which stands for nothing but ‘ethics’ and ‘us’,” says Mani.
A lot of thought went into the setting up of Ethicus. They wanted to celebrate the Indian identity, that is the sari, but with a different look. Designers were brought in, who worked closely with the weavers to create the look and feel that would popularise the sari among the young women of today.
“We also realised that the weavers need their share of due when it comes to recognition, and the buyers are also aware of the story behind every Ethicus product,” says Mani. In effect, every product of Ethicus comes with a picture of the weaver, his name, and the time he took to weave that particular product.
Apart from saris, scarves, stoles and dupattas also roll out of the Ethicus stable. In addition to the woven wonders, Ethicus is also known for its machine-made linen and knit baby garments, which are exported. The traditional jacquard looms that they have set up not only gives identity to scores of weavers, but also supports the cause of sustainable fashion. In addition, Ethicus also provides free education to the children of weavers.
Mani is a very happy man today. The journey from farm to fashion has indeed been an eventful one, and a very satisfying one, too.
“It was shocking to see that the organic farming culture was almost lost, in just 10 years. Farmers had to be led back to organic farming, and assured every kind of support possible,” says Mani. In effect, they zeroed in on H D Kote in Karnataka as the ideal place to put their plans into action as “the climate in H D Kote is best suited for cotton cultivation, especially of the extra-long staple variety.”
They bought native seeds from the Karnataka State Seeds Corporation, and encouraged the farmers in H D Kote, on the banks of River Kabini, to take the organic route. “The farmers in H D Kote needed some convincing as they had turned to GM crops for better yield. Generally, it takes around three years for a farm to be labelled organic,” he says.
Two other reasons that prompted them to encourage the organic cultivation of cotton were to improve the ranking of Indian cotton in the international market where it was perceived to be one of the most contaminated, and to free farmers from the clutches of middlemen.
“It was also sad to note that these farmers were totally dependent on middlemen for the marketing of their produce, who in turn would pocket the profits, leaving the farmers with nothing to cheer about. We wanted to bridge the gap between the farmers and us, by doing away with the middlemen menace. We offer the farmers a minimum support price for the produce, and not a pre-fixed price,” he says.
Accordingly, they entered into contract farming with the farmers, assuring them that all the cotton they cultivate would be bought by them. Even earlier, Mani had worked with the farmers who cultivated conventional cotton in Mundgod, Uttara Kannada district, on contract farming basis, and had tasted success. He now wanted to replicate the same model with the farmers in H D Kote, with organic cotton. He also took it upon himself to offer any kind of support the farmers would need, with the procurement of native seeds, farming inputs, certification, and so on.
Thus began the organic cultivation story. However, the story doesn’t end here. Enter Vijayalakshmi, who decided that the organic cotton thus cultivated should be woven into fabrics. So was born Ethicus, the brand. “Which stands for nothing but ‘ethics’ and ‘us’,” says Mani.
A lot of thought went into the setting up of Ethicus. They wanted to celebrate the Indian identity, that is the sari, but with a different look. Designers were brought in, who worked closely with the weavers to create the look and feel that would popularise the sari among the young women of today.
“We also realised that the weavers need their share of due when it comes to recognition, and the buyers are also aware of the story behind every Ethicus product,” says Mani. In effect, every product of Ethicus comes with a picture of the weaver, his name, and the time he took to weave that particular product.
Apart from saris, scarves, stoles and dupattas also roll out of the Ethicus stable. In addition to the woven wonders, Ethicus is also known for its machine-made linen and knit baby garments, which are exported. The traditional jacquard looms that they have set up not only gives identity to scores of weavers, but also supports the cause of sustainable fashion. In addition, Ethicus also provides free education to the children of weavers.
Mani is a very happy man today. The journey from farm to fashion has indeed been an eventful one, and a very satisfying one, too.
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(Published 15 July 2017, 16:56 IST)
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