Natural Cotton Color: Partnerships extend sustainable fashion with Paraíba’s colorful cotton

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The second half of 2019 is busy for Natural Cotton Color. Earlier this month Francisca Vieira, CEO of the brand, attended the Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Local Productive Arrangement of Colored Cotton Apparel and Artifacts of the State of Paraíba.
At the time, some brand information was released to the members of the Committee. The goal is to generate demand. That is, to ensure that the market gives sustainability to those involved in the production chain.

APL Paraiba Colored Cotton Organic - Algodao colorido

At this meeting, for the first time the APL Colored Cotton Steering Committee welcomed Textile Exchange and the chairman of Cinep. The Steering Committee integrates entrepreneurs, producers and their organizations and connects them with supporting institutions such as Embrapa, FIEP, Senai, Sebrae, Conab, public and private banks, and ABIT, which manages the TEXBrasil internationalization program. Also participating in the committee is the association of artisans Renasci and farmers of Juarez Távora and Campos, cities of the Paraíba countryside, where the culture of colored cotton is done with a guaranteed purchase contract and have certified organic product.

Innovation in organic colored cotton knits and fabrics

With seeds developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa Cotton, Natural Cotton Color collects, in partnership with family farmers, the Paraíba cotton – which is already born colorful. The lengthening of the fiber with the ability to make thinner yarns is the result of about two decades of research by the institution.
After 15 years producing fashion with eco-cotton knitwear, Natural Cotton Color has developed new yarns. One of them is flat fabric twist 30 and knit twist 30. Thus, it presented to the market the viability of couture projects for the expansion of sustainable fashion in Brazil.

Another innovation is cotton yarn colored with pure silk. The ongoing project is the result of a partnership with Bratac, a 100% Brazilian company with industrial plants in Londrina, PR, and Bastos, SP. It is the only commercial-scale silk yarn producer in the West. Its yarns are considered the best in the world, so they supply the main luxury brands on the planet. The French Hermès only uses Bratac threads in her classic silk scarves. The company’s CEO Shigueru Taniguti Junior also comments on the project.

“Bratac has been working with a noble and natural fiber, silk, since 1940. In a continuous process of improvement (Kaizen), we seek ways and partnerships to make our business more sustainable by creating links with companies that have the same ideals and purposes. For Bratac it is a great pride to start a partnership with Natural Cotton Color, which combining the advantages of the two natural fibers will provide consumers with a sustainable natural product adding value not only to the product, but above all a unique experience to these consumers ”.

“It is an honor to develop threads with Bratac which is a supplier of the biggest fashion brands. I highlight that the partnership was only possible thanks to the bridge made between the fashion and market consultant Geni Ródio Ribeiro with the Brazilian Silk Association – Abraseda”, says Francisca Vieira, CEO of Natural Cotton Color.

 

Abraseda – Institucional from IRRA Studio on Vimeo.

Through the SENAI Institute of Textile and Apparel Technology, located in João Pessoa, Natural Cotton Color is also developing new fabrics scheduled for release in November 2019 in its own collection. The fabrics are still in the patent application process, so it is still confidential information.

According to Rafael Lemos, the institution’s fashion designer – assigned in support of the brand as a co-author of the Natural Cotton Color collection – new industrial colored cotton fabrics produced on an industrial scale should increase demand in different markets and manufactures because they guarantee greater flexibility in use. “In our development, when creating a piece for Natural Cotton Color, we have thought of a global product that meets the criteria of the production chain and local crafts. We design a timeless fashion product to meet the demands of the international sustainable fashion market. We combine design and technology with social responsibility”, he says.

Another partnership for innovation is a project of Natural Cotton Color approved by the Federal Institute of Paraíba – IFPB to develop the production of mocó cotton in the state. “Mocó cotton can be of great economic potential for the region since the fiber can result in a long, quality yarn like Egyptian yarn”,  says Francisca.

Among the reports of Francisca Vieira, CEO of Natural Cotton Color, is the approval of the project for the development of the mocó cotton with the IFPB. The species in the Northeast has a thread as long as the coveted Egyptian cotton.

Distribution and visibility at international fairs and events

Natural Cotton Color will attend two major fashion shows in September. One of them is Who’s Next which launched the Impact show highlighting Sustainable Fashion. For this presentation, Juliana Gevaerd Bio (colored cotton yarn knitting machine) and Antique & Chique (women’s brand with knitted clothes and flat organic cotton from Paraíba) will be gathered. In addition to a special collection of accessories developed by jewelry designer Paula Boldrini from Minha Maison de Joias. For this event, we have the support of the Brazilian Designers Association – ABEST.

Also in September, Natural Cotton Color attends Premiére Vision Paris at the Smart Creation salon and will exhibit the new organic colored cotton knitwear developed by Unitextil. The display of products at the world’s leading fashion fair is via TexBrasil, an internationalization program of the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) managed by the Brazilian Association of Textile and Clothing Industry (ABIT).

New to this edition is the participation of Ecosimple – Sustainable Fabrics, a new partner that presents for the first time at Première Vision Paris its innovative fabrics and a collection developed with Paraíba’s organic colored cotton. The textile industry based in Americana, SP, and store in the state capital, produces fabrics for the fashion, footwear, upholstery and decoration in general. “The partnership with Natural Cotton Color comes at a great time, where the entire fashion market is focused on sustainability. The partnership brings together two pioneer companies that are doing serious, committed work and we will show the world how relevant Brazil’s sustainable industry is”, says Tatiana Soares, textile factory marketing manager. Ecosimple brings to the fair fabrics with various mixtures of stripes and designs, cambrics among other commercial bases.

Development of new products with handcrafted design

In November, Natural Cotton Color performs a fashion show at Brasil Eco Fashion Week, in São Paulo. The brand’s fashion show is supported by Círculo S/A and partnerships with Paula Boldrini (Minha Maison de Jóias) and Trópicca (footwear). According to Rafael Morais, organizer of the Sustainable Fashion Week, “Natural Cotton Color stands out not only as a fashion brand, but as a promoter of projects to expand family farming, the cultivation of organic cotton and the strengthening of the value chain in Brazil. local productive arrangements that prioritize this noble fiber. ”

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Natural Cotton Color performs a show on the largest sustainable fashion platform is an annual event in São Paulo.

The lines supplied by the Circulo S/A will be used for handcrafted pieces developed with the Cariri Paraibano Lacemaker’s Association (Renasci) of the new collection. The lacemaker master and president of the entity, Marlene Leopoldino, who is also part of the Steering Committee, explains that, with encouragement from Natural Cotton Color, she developed a technique in which Renaissance lace stitches are made directly on the colored cotton fabric. “In this work, the lacemakers earn by the hour worked. This way is more cost effective because it is much faster. With the common income, the work was slow and the pay was by roll of thread”, she says.

Cariri Paraibano Lacemaker's Association (Renasci) of the new collection

Cariri Paraibano Lacemaker’s Association (Renasci)

For the production of biojoias, Paula Boldrini was in Paraíba in August to train the artisans who will develop the pieces for the fashion show. According to the designer, the partnership My Jewelry House with Natural Cotton Color will have two strands. “We are creating the most conceptual biojewels for the Brazil Eco Fashion Week show, where I rescue a research that I started in 2004 and has a lot to do with our converging perspectives – the weaving, the metal, the Paraíba organic colored cotton, the respect for the people involved in our business, care for the raw materials, the relationship with the skin, the handshake of those who make a real deal. We are also creating a collection of biojoias to market nationally and perhaps internationally”, she said.

Sabrina Freire, an executive at Trópicca, is creating footwear for the Natural Cotton Color fashion show in São Paulo and celebrates the partnership: “Paraíba’s colorful cotton is a national pride. A great example of research, development and commitment. It is an honor to develop accessories for the brand show at Brasil Eco Fashion Week ”.

Certification to meet market demand and strengthen agriculture

Sebrae – PB is developing a project to support the colored cotton production chain with the Paraíba Development Company (Cinep) and the Secretariat of Family Farming and Semiarid Development (SEAFDS) and the Paraíba Research Company, Rural Extension and Land Regularization (Empaer).
Paraíba’s organic colored cotton used by Natural Cotton Color is certified by Ecocert. The aim of the project is to ensure that every field worker with organic agriculture management has his or her own certificate.

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Some workers from the Settlement Campos in Salgado de São Félix – PB with technicians Embrapa and Emater and Francisca Vieira, from Natural Cotton Color, on the day of the recording of the report for FashionTV.

 

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Harvest of colored cotton from Paraíba by the Margarida Maria Alves settlement, in Juarez Távora.

 

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