The Chettinad cotton saree, which inherited the intricacies of now out-of-vogue and over a century-old‘Kandangi’ pure silk sarees, has won the ‘India Handloom’ tag for its unique designs and identity.

The Textiles Committee, Union Ministry of Handlooms and Textiles, Mumbai, registered the Chettinad cotton saree under the India Handloom Brand Scheme after checking various quality parameters stipulated by the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and offered a logo. The brand and logo would help the society to promote its sales in the domestic as well as international markets.

The Chettinadu saree was derived from the place where it was created. Chettinadu is a small town in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. The traditional saree from Chettinadu is called Kandangi and it is basically made of cotton. The saree is woven in different vibrant hues and the artisans used cotton as fabric. The Chettinadu sarees are designed by incorporating checks/ stripes of vivid colours. The traditional sarees are made in mustard, brick red, earthly reds, oranges, chromes and brown colours. Checks and Temple borders are the traditional patterns of Kandangi saree.