Organic colored cotton being shown at the Biennale Emergences in France

Paraiba-based brand Natural Cotton Color was invited to represent Brazil at the Biennale Emergences – Metiers d’Arts x Design, from October 13 to 16, in Pantin, in the Paris metro. The event promotes contemporary creation associated with artisanal work in all of its diversity, including textile creations – for fashion and décor. The 15-year-old brand, which produces womenswear, menswear, kidswear and accessories with organic colored cotton, is a member of Texbrasil, the Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency).

The show, which brings together hundreds of exhibitors, is in its fourth edition with a theme of bringing back plant-based dyes. Many actors in textile and fashion creation are working to rediscover and adapt these techniques to the industrial context. For Francisca Viera, the CEO of Natural Cotton Color, the event is an opportunity to show what makes the product different, based on how it is produced. “Our cotton is grown with the color already, without any use of dyes, that means we are an innovation at this event,” she says.

Brazil should surprise during its exhibition in France. Colored cotton is a technological innovation of a natural raw material, the result of research on genetic selection. The cotton ball is grown in tones that range from beige to brown, without needing to undergo any dying of any kind, which means it generates no environmental impact. Studies from the Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation – Embrapa show that 87.5% less water is consumed in the production process for a shirt that uses colored cotton compared to a regular shirt that is dyed industrially.

Francisca highlights the importance of taking part in Biennale Emergences: “at an international show, our colored cotton goes beyond our brand, it represents the state and it represents Brazil,” she says. According to the CEO, despite all of its unique features and the efforts of the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association – Abit and Apex-Brasil, there is still little known about this raw material. “Major fashion brands have yet to develop products using Paraiba colored cotton. So we always have to work and seize every opportunity to expand knowledge of the organic colored cotton produced in the state,” she says.

Natural Cotton Color will represent Brazil in France with the support of the Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Companies (SEBRAE-PB) and the National Industry Service (SENAI), through the Local Production Arrangement (APL) Management Committee for Colored Cotton Apparel and Items of the state of Paraiba.

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