The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) has said it will start branding and labelling of Indian cotton under the ‘Kasturi’ brand from the current cotton season.
Texprocil and the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for branding and traceability of Indian-grown Kasturi cotton.
Texprocil Chairman Sunil Patwari said in a release that the Ministry of Textiles had entrusted the responsibility with Texprocil, which represented the trade and industry, to brand, trace, and certify Indian-grown cotton, Kasturi.
“This industry-led approach is in line with the practice adopted by major cotton brands such as the US Pima and the Egyptian Giza,” he said. The Kasturi brand is owned by the Ministry of Textiles and would be managed by Texprocil. The scope of work involves brand promotion, traceability, and certification.
The end customer can get the complete traceability details on a block chain-based software platform and also through QR code, Mr. Patwari said.
According to Siddhartha Rajagopal, the Executive Director of Texprocil, Kasturi would be a specifications-based branding. The parameters for cotton that would get the Kasturi label were well-defined and would be benchmarked with international standards, he said. Farmers, traders, ginners, or spinners can apply to get the cotton tested for Kasturi branding. A system will be put in place to ensure there is no mixing of other cotton in the entire production chain.
“We will put a system in place. We have made pilot efforts. There will be rigorous testing,” he said. “Initially, there will be very small quantity, probably 5% of the total production, that will get into the brand. But, it will pick up,” he added.
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