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Cotton Council International (CCI) started its
fun-filled 'Cool with Cotton' carnival in Chennai, which will
continue till July 22, 2007. Bollywood actress Amrita Arora
inaugurated the carnival where she shared her views on the
importance and her preference of cotton over other fabrics. One of
the key highlights of the event was the heartening gesture of the
actress to help the less privileged of society by donating cotton
items to NGO 'Goonj'.
The 'Cool with Cotton' carnival aims to generate
awareness about the benefits of cotton and its uses besides
highlighting the fun and fashionable aspects of the fabric. 'Cool
with Cotton' mobile vans will go across to malls as well as
residential areas in the city where the consumers will get a chance
to participate in fun-filled games related to the cotton theme and
win exciting prizes.
Another key attraction of the carnival is the
'Cotton Design Challenge' which would give the consumers a platform
to play around with their creativity and flaunt their sketching
skills. The best fashion sketches/designs will be chosen and
rewarded iPods and mobile phones.
CCI, in association with NGO 'Goonj', has started an initiative
called 'Gift a Cotton' to help the less privileged in society. 'Goonj'
is a mass movement channelising underutilised resources from cities
to the villages of India, highlighting the importance of cloth as
one of the basic but ignored needs of the poor.
Consumers can support the cause by donating any cottOn item to the
mobile van or collection centre closest to them. After the big-bang
start of the carnival in Chennai, it will move on to Bangalore,
Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. The cotton items raised through the 'Gift
a Cotton' campaign will be used by Goonj to address education,
health and development issues in far-flung villages in parts of 19
states of India.
"The purpose of the 'Cool with Cotton' carnival is to re-acquaint
people with cotton by creating awareness about the uses and benefits
of cotton. This year, we have also initiated the 'Gift a Cotton'
donation concept in association with 'Goonj' to help the
dispossessed members of our society. The cotton items collected from
all over India will be donated to 'Goonj'," said Ashish Dhir, India
Representative for Cotton Council International.
Bollywood film actress Amrita Arora expressed her excitement at the
inauguration of the carnival. She enjoyed the various innovative
games placed at the venue for visitors. Speaking on why she prefers
cotton over other fabric, Amrita, said, "Cotton being a natural
fabric, is most suitable for all types of weather. The look of the
fabric is such that it serves an all-in-one purpose of giving the
fresh, trendy and cool look. The comfort of cotton also makes me an
addict to the fabric."
The carnival started on July 13, 2007, in Chennai and will end at
Delhi on September 23, 2007. To kickstart the carnival in each city,
the organisers will have big Bollywood celebrities talking about
their reasons for preferring cotton over any other fabric.
The carnival would enable customers at the mall gather information
on cotton such as uses, benefits, care tips and fashionable trends.
What is the origin of denim? Why does cotton shrink when you wash
it? What is wrinkle-resistant cotton? How can you pack cotton
clothes so that they won't get all rumpled? What is the difference
between cotton and linen? Does cotton clothing have to be dry
cleaned? Why do cotton bed sheets vary so much in price? How to
identify the fabric? These are some of the questions that the 'Cool
with Cotton' campaign will talk about.
R Rangaraj
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