What it is

Organic Khadi is handspun, handwoven Indian khadi — cotton spun by hand on a charkha and woven by hand on a wooden loom — made from cotton that has been grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilisers. The cloth is the same. What differs is the field.

Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically intensive crops on earth. Although it occupies roughly 2.5% of the world’s cultivated land, it accounts for about 16% of global insecticide use and substantial herbicide use. Organic cotton refuses that input. The farmer relies on crop rotation, natural pest predators, and compost in place of synthetic chemicals.

How it is made

The farming is upstream. Organic cotton growing in India is typically certified through systems such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard); the seed, the soil, the irrigation, and the harvest are documented and audited. Hand-picking the cotton (rather than chemical defoliation followed by machine harvest) keeps the fibre longer and cleaner.

From that point onward, organic khadi follows the same path as any handspun khadi: hand-cleaned bolls, charkha spinning at roughly 100 grams of yarn per spinner per day, handloom weaving at one to two metres per day. Two artisans — spinner and weaver — behind every length you wear.

The hand

To most hands, organic khadi feels indistinguishable from regular handspun khadi. It begins crisp and softens over washes; the slubs and irregularities of human-spun yarn are present; the cloth breathes the same way. What differs is what the cloth is not carrying: pesticide residue. People with reactive or sensitive skin often notice the difference, even when the difference is invisible.

Why it is worth its price

Organic cotton farming yields less per acre than conventional in the first few years, and the seed and certification carry costs. Those costs travel down the chain. What you receive in exchange is cotton that has not been grown on poisoned soil, by farmers who have not breathed the spray. The wage that the spinner and weaver earn is the same.

It is, simply, the cleaner version of an already careful cloth.

How to care for it

• Wash: cold hand-wash with a mild, pH-neutral detergent — ideally one without optical brighteners. Avoid bleach.
• Do not wring. Squeeze gently or roll briefly in a dry towel.
• Dry: line-dry in shade. Direct sun bleaches natural dyes.
• Iron: warm, while still slightly damp.
• Expect softening over the first five to ten washes — this is the cloth finding its hand.
• Store folded in a dry, ventilated place.

Best worn as

Anything that touches the skin directly. Undershirts, summer kurtas, dresses, sleepwear, children’s pieces. If you are sensitive to chemical residues in conventional cotton, or if you simply want to know that your cloth was grown without poisoning the people who grew it, this is the cloth.