While Surat is popular for its saris and dress materials, now the man-made fabric hub is also gaining traction for its disposable beach wear fabrics, in the global markets. The low quality use-and-throw printed fabrics manufactured in the city are finding takers in the countries like the US, Brazil, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and Indonesia.

Manufacturers are using these fabrics to manufacture bikini tops and swimwear. The fabrics are made from second quality yarn and are available at a very low price points, almost as cheap as for Rs 20 per meter. A wearer can dump the clothes after use.

Surat is catering to around 40 per cent of the country's man-made fabric demand with the daily production of about 3.5 crore meters. Around 40 lakh meters of low-cost fabric is manufactured per day for beach wear, which is exported via Delhi and Mumbai to various destinations around the world. The beach fabric turnover per annum is pegged at Rs 700 crores.

Surat is also catching up fast with four new denim plants having capacity of about 100 million metres, developed over the last 18 months. The state would also witness many other textile companies extend or expand their denim facilities over the next few years.