An experiment that began three years ago in a small town near Surendranagar, India, is beginning to gain momentum now that dozens of women are cultivating colored cotton. Originally started when several women grew brown-colored cotton on one bigha (about 0.6 acres) of land, the initiative has spread throughout the area, with about 50 women from three adjoining towns now growing brown cotton under organic conditions on more than 2.7 acres of land.

The trend is being driven by the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), which uses the colored fiber to make dresses under its Hansiba brand. There are plans to add green and blue cotton to the crop mix in the near future, and the colored cotton has received such positive feedback that SEWA’s Trade Facilitation Center has created a special line of clothing, dubbed Madhuli, for one of its fashion shows.

In addition to colored cotton’s environmental benefits--such as eliminating the need for chemical dye--it also provides superior colorfastness. Most important of all, perhaps, is the impact it is having on women’s employment in the local economy. SEWA women do almost all of the work on the crop, from planting through harvesting, and once the cotton is ginned, they use handlooms to spin the fiber into threads.