Cotton Leggings
Organic Cotton Fields
The super-soft fabrics of our Leggings and Apparel originates with organic cotton grown and harvested by a collective group of family farmers in the rainfed regions of Maharashtra, Odessa, and Andhra Pradesh in India. The group of farmers work together, supporting and running a non-profit collective. The collective works to improve socio-economic conditions for the farmers, provides farmer trainings, and runs test plots where they constantly experiment with new growing techniques. The challenges presented by the changing climate are always top of mind for all small-scale family farmers.
Each year we pay a deposit to the collective which helps with up-front costs associated with the planting season. Responding to what farmers say they need, instead of purchasing what will look good in PR photos, is what we call real fair trade.
Fiber Processing
The cotton gin used for Maggie’s Leggings and Apparel processes Organic Cotton exclusively. Over 60% of a cotton harvest is lost during ginning, consisting of short unusable fibers, field trash, and seeds. In conventional cotton, this is also where most pesticide residue remains (and what ends up in cottonseed oil, dairy, meat and more).
Working with our supply chains on continuous improvement in quality, environmental improvement, and living conditions is what we call real fair trade.
Spinning
Our spinner has a dedicated Organic line to spin the yarn for our Leggings and Apparel. The process to make the fiber into yarn involves opening the bales, carding the fiber (creating a thin web) to form a rope-like strand called a sliver, combing to remove short fibers and impurities, drawing the sliver out into a thinner strand, and finally spinning into the organic cotton yarn.
Knitting
The organic yarn is knit into fabric using circular knitting machines in Kolkata, India. We work diligently with our knitter to develop fabrics with the perfect stretch and recovery for each style of Maggie’s legging. We then work together to make sure fabric is easy to replicate on every run . We are thrilled to have recently developed a new GOTS certified finishing process that makes our fabrics feel buttery soft.
Including our producers in developing our designs and decision-making is what we call real fair trade.
Cut & Sew
The final partner in this fully GOTS certified production chain is a 3rd generation family-owned mill in Kolkata, India where all workers are represented by one of three different trade unions. We work closely with the cut and sew team to maximize efficiency when developing our legging patterns, which helps us keep both prices and fabric waste low.
