Carving niche in organic fabrics in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: The conventional cotton clothes we use on a daily basis are environmentally unsustainable, as their production practices involve application of substantial fertilisers and pesticides, says Vandana Kalagara and Smruti Rao, the classmates-turned-business partners who are steadily carving a niche in organic cotton in the city. Vandana and Smruti studied fashion designing together at NIFT. […]
Hyderabad: The conventional cotton clothes we use on a daily basis are environmentally unsustainable, as their production practices involve application of substantial fertilisers and pesticides, says Vandana Kalagara and Smruti Rao, the classmates-turned-business partners who are steadily carving a niche in organic cotton in the city.
Vandana and Smruti studied fashion designing together at NIFT. After graduating they went their separate ways only to come back together to run organic kids wear clothing brand, Keebee. The company was initially founded by Vandana and later joined by Smruti.
Supported by her partner and family, Vandana started researching organic cotton when she noticed that there were limited options for infant clothing in the city. Also, the material they were made of was said to be harmful to kids. That is when she started Keebee in 2016.
Elaborating on why these clothes are harmful, she says, “Everybody wears cotton in our country because of the hot temperatures. But what most of us do not know is that the current cotton production methods are environmentally not sustainable. The cotton crops are grown using fertilisers and pesticides and the colour dye is also made of chemicals. About 25 percent of the world’s insecticides are used only on cotton crops. It is like a slow poison sitting on your skin for hours together”.
Vandana says conventional cotton farming taken up by farmers causes significant damage to the environment. “At one time, when we established our stall in an exhibition, a farmer voluntarily came forward and thanked us for selling clothes made of organic cotton. It was heart-warming,” she adds.
When asked what Keebee does to tackle this issue, Smruti says, “All the fabrics we purchase are from the manufacturers that are Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) approved. A manufacturer will be calibrated on all quality scales including the socio-economic standards of the workers. This makes sure that both people involved in making the fabric and the environment are safe.”
Keebee caters to the clothing needs of infants till two years. They also roll out special festival collections and limited patterns for kids up to 10 years. All the products are available on their website (keebee.in), apart from the e-commerce platforms like amazon and first cry.
The duo is planning to open an offline store soon. They also conducted a workshop in Hyderabad during the Covid-19 pandemic as coordination with other facilities was becoming difficult. The process to get their facility GOTS approved is underway.
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