Real Madras Handkerchief :
The characteristic item of fabric produced and exported from the Madras and Andhra belt is the Real Madras Handkerchief (RMHK).

The popularity of this fabric is due chiefly to two factors. Even after long use for the specific purposes for which it is designed and the many washes it undergoes during that time, it is so durable that it is ultimately used as ordinary cloth for various household chores. Another reason for its popularity is its peculiar smell. This smell is obtained using turmeric powder and indigenous indigo. African consumers are partial to this fabric for the typical colors which they find in it. This is due to the fact that the mineral content in the water used in weaving and dyeing of the fabric gives a special tinge to the color which the mill-made 'Imitation Madras' could not achieve.

RMHK is exported chiefly to West African countries such as Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Liberia from where it finds its way to surrounding countries such as Southern and Northern Cameroun, Dahomey, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal and to many other places in Central Africa. In the recent past, these fabrics have made an entry into the market in Western Europe and USA with slight modifications in the dimensions and constructional particulars of the original product. Several countries have imitated this fabric on power looms and have been attempting to market it. These are known as 'Imitation Madras', while the genuine product from India made on hand-looms, came to acquire the prefix 'REAL'.