Clothes go herbal

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In this age of innovation and technology-driven times, it feels good to be revisiting our roots. One such example of this reverse passage is this new concept of developing wonder fabrics that contain tiny packets of goodness in the form of herbs and essential oils, which when in contact with body heat and wear slowly release their fragrance and medicinal benefits.

Recently designer Jattinn Kochhar launched a range of herbal clothing in collaboration with Tatha. The focus of the line is to make people aware about the benefits of selected herbs permanently infused in fabrics, using age-old techniques.
“I have been hearing about organic clothes for past 10 years. But I didn’t want to do just organic clothes. I reasoned why would a consumer pay 20 per cent extra for organic clothes? The market was not ready and I was not convinced myself. Then sometime back Tatha came to me for a line of herbal clothing. I liked the idea, but before giving my nod, I experimented with the fabric. I made myself a kurta and I wore it in Delhi summer. Now I am convinced about why people won’t mind paying a few extra bucks on it,” says Jattinn.
Herbal fabrics are light and make for perfect breezy clothes. The best part about cotton herbal cloth is that it’s super cool in summer and warm in winter. The fabric looks like a close cousin of linen but it’s superior and comfortable than the latter.
Jattinn informs that the fabric is hand-spun and woven. During the processing of the fabric the cotton yarn is dipped in essential oils extracted from herbs like aloe vera, saraca asoca (ashoka), basil (tulsi), adhatoda vastika, cedar, vitex negundo linn, mimoosa pudica (lajjalu), piper nigrum (black pepper), jasminum multipartitum (wild jasmine) and azima tetracantha (needle bush).
Herbal clothing claims to help in fighting many common and prevalent diseases, and also helps the body lose toxins and enhance the metabolism.
The State of Kerala Coir Department had in fact had a six-month clinical trial initiated by the Ministry of Health at the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram on patients suffering from rheumatism, allergy, hypertension, diabetes, psoriasis and other skin ailments. For the study, all clothes, bed linen and mattresses for the resident subjects were dyed in herbs and the walls, floors and ceilings in the rooms were lined with Ayurvastra coir mats. Dr Vishwanathan, former dean of the Drug Research Department at Ayurveda College, said, “We treated around 40 people. And the response was remarkably good, especially in cases of arthritis and skin ailments.”
Jattinn adds, “When these fabrics come in contact with body’s natural warmth, the oils in the clothes get activated and a nice fragrance emanates from them. The body then absorbs the oils and the healing process begins.”