Women artisans hand block printing cotton fabric at the workshop

TEXTILE TRADITIONS

Cotton ~ INDIA'S
GIFT TO THE WORLD

India was the first civilisation to cultivate cotton, spin it into thread, and weave it into cloth ~ five thousand years ago. This single fibre has shaped empires, driven global trade, inspired revolutions, and clothed billions. Its story begins in the Indus Valley.

The story of cotton begins in the Indus Valley, in what is now western India and Pakistan, around 5000 BCE. Archaeological excavations at sites including Mehrgarh and Mohenjo-daro have yielded evidence of cotton cultivation, spinning, and weaving that predates any other known cotton-using civilisation by thousands of years.

THE WORLD'S FIRST COTTON

Cotton yarn being prepared for the handloom in a South Indian village

WHERE IT ALL began

At Mehrgarh, fragments of cotton fibre have been found dating to approximately 5000 BCE. At Mohenjo-daro, dating to around 2500 BCE, more substantial evidence has been recovered ~ traces of cotton cloth preserved in the corrosion on bronze tools, impressions of woven fabric on pottery, and spindle whorls that indicate a well-developed spinning tradition.

This means that when the great civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were still clothed primarily in linen and wool, the people of the Indus Valley had already mastered the cultivation of cotton, the spinning of its fibres into thread, and the weaving of that thread into cloth. India did not merely participate in the history of cotton ~ it invented it.

Weaver working at the handloom in the Manamedu cotton weaving workshop
Natural dye bath with cotton fabric absorbing warm marmalade tones
Tailor stitching a cotton garment at the Guraav sewing factory

From fibre to thread to cloth ~ five thousand years of mastery

FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OF cotton

c. 5000 BCE

Mehrgarh

Earliest cotton fibres found ~ the world's first cotton cultivation

c. 2500 BCE

Mohenjo-daro

Woven cloth, spindle whorls, and dyed cotton fragments recovered

1st C CE

Roman Trade

Pliny complains Indian cotton is draining Rome's gold

16th-18th C

Mughal Golden Age

Dhaka muslin reaches legendary fineness ~ "woven air"

1947

Independence

Khadi and the spinning wheel become symbols of freedom

5,000

Years of cotton cultivation

1,000+

Threads per inch in Dhaka muslin

#1

India: world's largest organic cotton producer

COTTON THAT CHANGED everything

For the next four thousand years, Indian cotton was the most desired textile product in the world. The names we still use for cotton fabrics tell this story ~ calico comes from Calicut (Kozhikode) in Kerala; muslin is linked to Mosul but refers to cloth that was primarily of Indian origin; chintz comes from the Hindi chint, meaning "spotted" or "sprinkled."

Indian cotton cloth was traded across the ancient world. Roman writers described Indian textiles with awe. Arab merchants carried Indian cotton across the Indian Ocean. By the time European traders reached India's shores in the late 15th century, Indian cotton was already the foundation of one of the world's most sophisticated and far-reaching trade networks.

Handloomer weaving cotton cloth at the workshop in Trichy, South India

Abrawan ~ "flowing water." Baft hawa ~ "woven air." Shabnam ~ "evening dew." These were not marketing terms. They were attempts to describe a fabric so sheer that it was genuinely translucent, so light that a length of it could be passed through a finger ring.

POETIC NAMES FOR DHAKA MUSLIN

DHAKA MUSLIN ~ woven air

The pinnacle of Indian cotton craft was the muslin of Dhaka (now the capital of Bangladesh, then part of the broader Indian textile world). Dhaka muslin was so extraordinarily fine ~ thread counts of 1,000 or more per square inch ~ that it was given poetic names that speak to its almost supernatural quality.

The secret of Dhaka muslin lay in a particular variety of cotton ~ Gossypium arboreum var. neglecta, known locally as phuti karpas ~ that grew only in the specific microclimate of the Dhaka region. This cotton produced fibres of extraordinary fineness, and the spinners of Dhaka (predominantly women) developed techniques for drawing these fibres into threads of almost invisible thinness. The finest muslins were spun on dew-moistened mornings, when the humidity helped prevent the delicate threads from breaking.

The Dhaka muslin tradition did not survive the colonial period. The specific cotton variety is now extinct or nearly so. The spinning techniques, passed orally from mother to daughter, have been largely lost. It is one of the great cultural losses of the colonial era ~ a textile tradition of unmatched refinement, destroyed not by obsolescence but by deliberate economic policy.

Cotton handloom weaver at the Manamedu village workshop

COLONIAL devastation

The British colonisation of India brought with it a systematic dismantling of India's cotton industry. The colonial economic model was brutally simple: India was to supply raw cotton to the mills of Lancashire and Manchester, which would process it into finished cloth and sell it back to India and the world. Indian finished textiles ~ which had dominated global markets for centuries ~ were to be suppressed through tariffs, trade restrictions, and eventually, through the destruction of the communities that produced them.

The results were devastating. Indian textile exports, which had been among the most valuable in the world, collapsed. Millions of weavers, spinners, dyers, and printers lost their livelihoods. Entire communities that had been sustained by cotton textile production for generations were impoverished. India was transformed from the world's leading textile exporter into an importer of British cloth.

The brutality of this transformation is difficult to overstate. Historians have documented how weavers' thumbs were cut off to prevent them from working. Punitive tariffs of 70-80% were placed on Indian textile exports to Britain, while British textiles were imported to India with minimal duties. The wealth that flowed from Indian cotton had built Britain's industrial revolution; now that industrial power was turned against the very people who had created the wealth in the first place.

REVIVAL AND resistance

The story of Indian cotton's revival is inseparable from the story of Indian independence. Gandhi's Swadeshi movement, which called on Indians to spin their own thread and weave their own cloth, was a direct response to colonial economic exploitation. The spinning wheel became a symbol of self-sufficiency, dignity, and resistance.

Post-independence, the Indian government invested heavily in reviving the handloom sector and supporting cotton production. The establishment of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the Handloom Board, and various state-level support schemes helped to stabilise and strengthen traditional cotton textile production. Today, India is once again one of the world's largest cotton producers and the largest producer of handloom cloth.

The revival is ongoing. New initiatives in organic cotton farming, fair trade certification, and sustainable textile production are connecting India's cotton heritage with contemporary values of environmental responsibility and ethical production.

Handloom weaver at work, black and white ~ cotton revival and resistance
Cotton fabric on a handloom in black and white

DOI FABRICS ~ WHAT WE use and why

Our most widely used fabric ~ a lightweight, semi-sheer cotton with a soft, flowing drape. Cotton voile is ideally suited to block printing, holding fine detail while remaining breathable and comfortable in warm weather. It is the foundation of most of our dresses and tops.

A more open-weave cotton with a relaxed, textured hand. Cotton gauze garments have a casual, lived-in quality that softens beautifully with wear and washing.

We are expanding our use of certified organic cotton across our range. Our Nora Primrose, Sundress collection, Uma Wrap, and Zuri Peony styles are made from organic cotton, and we plan to increase this proportion as we grow. Organic cotton is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, using practices that support soil health and reduce water usage.

For styles that require a different drape or weight, we use LENZING ECOVERO ~ a sustainable viscose derived from certified renewable wood sources. ECOVERO production generates up to 50% lower emissions and water impact compared to conventional viscose.

All our fabrics are printed with eco-friendly, AZO-free dyes. Each piece is handmade in India by artisan communities in Delhi and Jaipur.

THE SAHELI KAPAS cotton project

One of the most promising developments in Indian cotton farming is the emergence of initiatives that support smallholder farmers ~ particularly women ~ in transitioning to organic and sustainable practices. The Saheli Kapas Cotton Project is one such initiative, working with female cotton farmers to improve livelihoods, promote organic farming methods, and create more equitable supply chains.

Projects like Saheli Kapas address a fundamental challenge in the cotton industry: the disconnect between the people who grow the cotton and the people who wear the finished garments. By supporting farmer-centred initiatives, brands and consumers can help ensure that the benefits of cotton production flow back to the communities that do the growing ~ rather than being captured entirely by intermediaries and corporations.

For Daughters of India, supporting initiatives like Saheli Kapas aligns with our broader commitment to ethical production. When we use organic cotton in our garments, we are not only choosing a more sustainable fibre ~ we are participating in a system that supports the livelihoods of the women who grow it.

Group of artisans at the cotton garment factory in India

COTTON'S future ~ QUICK FACTS

When was cotton first cultivated? The earliest evidence of cotton cultivation comes from Mehrgarh in the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan/western India), dating to approximately 5000 BCE. This makes India the world's first cotton-cultivating civilisation, predating any other known cotton use by thousands of years.

What was Dhaka muslin? Dhaka muslin was the finest cotton fabric ever produced. Woven in the Dhaka region (now Bangladesh), it was so sheer it was called "woven air." Thread counts exceeded 1,000 per square inch. The tradition was largely destroyed during the colonial period, and the specific cotton variety used is now extinct or nearly so.

What fabrics does Daughters of India use? DOI primarily uses cotton voile (lightweight, ideal for block printing), cotton gauze (open-weave, textured), organic cotton (expanding across the range, including Nora Primrose, Sundresses, Uma Wrap, and Zuri Peony), and LENZING ECOVERO viscose (sustainable viscose from certified renewable sources). All fabrics are printed with AZO-free dyes.

Is India still a major cotton producer? Yes. India is one of the world's largest cotton producers and the world's largest producer of organic cotton. India also has the world's largest handloom sector, with over 4.3 million handloom households.

COTTON'S future IN INDIA

India's relationship with cotton is entering a new chapter. The challenges are real ~ water scarcity in cotton-growing regions, the environmental impact of conventional cotton farming, and the economic pressures facing smallholder farmers. But the opportunities are equally significant.

Organic cotton production in India is growing, driven by both consumer demand and government support. India is already the world's largest producer of organic cotton, and this proportion is increasing. New farming techniques that combine traditional knowledge with modern science are helping to reduce water usage, improve soil health, and increase yields without relying on synthetic chemicals.

At the same time, the slow fashion movement is creating renewed demand for high-quality, ethically produced cotton textiles ~ the kind of cloth that India has been making better than anyone else for five thousand years. The combination of India's deep cotton heritage, its vast artisan workforce, and growing global interest in sustainability creates a genuine opportunity for Indian cotton to reclaim its place at the centre of the global textile story.

Weaving the Poet in Pink Sorbet at Manamedu village ~ each metre takes a full day on the handloom

Explore Further

THE STORY OF cotton

Weaver at the handloom in Manamedu, cotton fabric on the loom

Handloom Weaving

The looms that transform cotton into cloth ~ thread by thread.
Male weaver at his traditional handloom, creating cotton fabric

India's Great Handloom Traditions

The weaving traditions that use Indian cotton ~ from Ikat to Khadi.
Cotton garments being prepared at the Guraav factory workshop

The Chintz Trade

How Indian cotton cloth conquered Europe ~ and was banned for being too desirable.
Cotton fabric soaking in an indigo dye bath, deep blue colour developing

Sustainable Dyeing

How we colour our cotton ~ eco-friendly practices for lasting beauty.
Explore All Craft Pages
Shipping & Returns

Our slow fashion garments are handcrafted by artisan communities in India, supporting women's empowerment and preserving ancient textile traditions.

We are a small team however we endeavour to process your order within 1-3 business days. You'll receive a tracking number by email once your order ships.

Delivery Australia International
Standard 3–7 days 5–10 days
Express 1–5 days 2–5 days


You can find our full shipping policy here.

We want you to love your Daughters of India piece. If it's not quite right, we're happy to help — simply return within 30 days and we'll issue a Daughters of India Gift Card for the full value. Your credit never expires and can be used on any piece, including new collections.

  • Items must be returned in original condition — unworn, unwashed with tags attached, folded neatly in the Daughters of India tote bag provided.
  • To arrange your return, contact us at hello@daughtersofindia.net. We recommend using a trackable shipping service.
  • Refunds are processed within 5–7 business days of receiving the return.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or store credit.

You can find our full returns policy here.

Shipping & Returns

Our slow fashion garments are handcrafted by artisan communities in India, supporting women's empowerment and preserving ancient textile traditions.

We are a small team however we endeavour to process your order within 1-3 business days. You'll receive a tracking number by email once your order ships.

Delivery Australia International
Standard 3–7 days 5–10 days
Express 1–5 days 2–5 days


You can find our full shipping policy here.

We want you to love your Daughters of India piece. If it's not quite right, we're happy to help — simply return within 30 days and we'll issue a Daughters of India Gift Card for the full value. Your credit never expires and can be used on any piece, including new collections.

  • Items must be returned in original condition — unworn, unwashed with tags attached, folded neatly in the Daughters of India tote bag provided.
  • To arrange your return, contact us at hello@daughtersofindia.net. We recommend using a trackable shipping service.
  • Refunds are processed within 5–7 business days of receiving the return.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or store credit.

You can find our full returns policy here.

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