Why did I fall in love with Mul Cotton?

Here is my confession, before starting Only Ethikal I really did not care about the fabric in my clothes. The only two fabrics that I heard about were polyester and cotton.

With Only Ethikal I have learnt that there are different types of cotton.

Cotton Mul was one of the first fabrics that I fell in love with, and here are the reasons why.

-          I live in Dubai where 70% of the time it is warm, cotton mul is perfect for this weather. It is so light for someone like me who dresses light even during winter here.

-          The fall of the fabric works very well for all silhouettes.

-          The fabric is very soft, and it can feel like second skin.

-          Gets softer with every wash, I personally like to handwash my mul cotton dresses. However, even with machine washing under 30 degrees, my clothes have maintained its quality.

Mul Cotton during the Mughal era

The story of Mul cotton makes this fabric more romantic 😊

This fabric has been around for more than 2500 years; it was originally woven by the weavers in Bengal with the cotton grown along the banks of Meghna river and nearby river systems in Bengal.

This fabric started getting the global attention during Mughal era in India. It is said that this fabric was woven for and worn by the Royals and Nobels in the Mughal empire. Even the mul fabrics came in different varieties and had very poetic names as per their quality - Woven Air (Baft Hawa), Running Water (Ab-e-Rawan), Evening Dew (Shabnam).

How Colonization impacted Mul Cotton?

During the colonization around 1800s, the British India Company took control of the textile industry and dismantled it to protect British textile mills. The weavers lost their livelihood and the art of weaving the finest Mul Cotton had almost disappeared.

Our Mul Cotton at Only Ethikal

Mul Cotton that is available today is both handwoven and mill woven. Handwoven mul cotton is still a luxury and is not something that can be used for everyday styles – due to the cost of the fabric. We have styles made from Mul cotton that are made from power mills, they are not organic as they are limited in supply and suitable for occasion wear. The mul cotton we use is sourced from Jaipur, and our styles are manufactured by an enterprise run by two lovely ladies with a team of 20 tailors. We do not mass produce; everything is made on demand.

This fabric has worked very well for sustainable fashion shoppers in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. We have developed new dresses in cotton mul in our Noor collection for those looking for modest fashion.

Click here to find the cotton mul collection from Noor - Only Ethikal - Noor