Aloe Vera Sarees- Handloom Sarees with a Difference!

You might have heard about aloe vera gel for skin care or aloe vera extract for health care but you would have never heard of sarees made of aloe vera! After being used for giving magical glow to  Cleopatra's skin and medical wellness to Alexander ages ago, Aloe Vera has landed right into the wardrobes of Indian women in the form of sarees!

Weavers in Anakaputhur suburb of Tamil Nadu are experimenting with aloe vera fibers to make colorful sarees. Till now, these weavers were making handloom sarees from traditional natural fibers like cotton and silk. However, with the increasing prices of yarn, they started finding other options for making their sarees. First they used banana fibre, and now they have started using fibre from the Aloe Vera plant. “Sarees made from Aloe Vera fibre are in demand. Weavers today are earning well,” as told by Sekar, the President of the Anakaputhur Jute Weavers Association.  What more? These are very cheap saris as compared to the traditional handloom sarees. They can be bought in as low a price as 700 rupees though in Tamil Nadu only. Hopefully, these sarees will soon be available in other parts of India and world too!

Aloe Vera Textile in Other Parts of the World

In the western countries like Germany and Spain, Aloe Vera enriched clothing is in the initial stages of development. It has been claimed that aloe vera in garments prevent aging of the skin; rejuvenate skin cells: and keep skin free from microbial infections. Dermatology tests related to the textile applications of these fibers were conducted by a research university in Germany. Presently, these garments are manufactured in Barcelona, Spain. It is mainly used for manufacturing inner garments, stockings etc. due to the claimed additional functions like absorbing bad smell, and providing anti-bacterial features. Looking at the initial stages of development of garments from aloe vera, the achievement of Tamil Nadu weavers is really commendable as they are making full fledged embellished sarees with Aloe Vera!