By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, June 5, 2015 :

The union textile ministry has unveiled an ambitious plan to revitalize the handloom industry under Brand India Handloom The ministry is fine tuning the guidelines to launch the special brand “India handloom”.

“With a view to build up trust of the customer on quality of handloom product, a special brand “India handloom” is being developed. This brand will ensure quality, purity of design and give assurance to the consumers the best value for the money spent on handloom product”,  union textile secretary Dr Sanjay Kumar Panda told ‘Bizodisha.com’.

Production with “Zero defect and Zero effect (on environment)”, environmental compliance like avoiding harmful carcinogenic azo dyes and chemicals in dyeing, proper effluent treatment; social compliance like avoiding child labour in any form would form part of the branding process, he added.

One important factor missing in the handloom marketing space is an assurance that it comes from handlooms and conforms to specifications claimed either by the producer or the seller. Branding will not only provide an assurance to consumers but also sustain the development agenda of the handloom industry, Panda reiterated.

India’s handloom product basket ranges from generic products of mass consumption to high value-added products of reputation and demand. “These value-added products need to be promoted under Brand India Handloom if they are to generate a special market space and bring increased earnings to the weavers.

The ministry of textiles proposes to strengthen the visibility of handloom products by promoting Brand India Handlooms to rev up the marketability of handloom products and support the ‘Make in India’ campaign”, Dr Panda, who has more than two decades of experience in textile sector, remarked.

Panda, who penned a book titled, “Increasing earnings of the handloom weaver brothers and sisters few worlds on”, is quite optimistic about the future of handloom sector in the country.

The handloom weaving industry plays a significant role in the India’s economy. In case of employment, it is the second largest sector next only to agriculture. This sector reports about 14% of the total cloth produced by the country.

A strong and diverse raw material base, cheap labor, an ever-growing domestic market and relatively better technologies are the key strengths of the Indian handloom sector that have resulted in such a pronounced prominence of this industry.

However, in India, handloom faced stiff competition with the advent of the powerloom. Plain cloth woven on powerloom remains cheaper than similar cloth woven on handloom which is why powerloom fabrics have acquired a lion share of the fabrics market.

“The decision for purchase of a particular fabric would ultimately lie with the consumers, who will chose the fabrics based on quality and price. It is necessary for the handloom weavers to appreciate and get prepared for facing this reality” the bureaucrat said adding that handloom fabrics, whoever, continue to retain its place as a niche product.

The best way for the handloom industry to retain its place and importance in the competitive market lies in producing good quality, defect free, high value cloth with designs changing rapidly for meeting the requirement of the customers, who have the capacity to pay, Panda suggested.

The ministry is tightening the protection measures provided under reservation of some products for production only by handloom with a pragmatic view of the entire textile industry and safeguarding interest of the handloom weavers for marketing their products, he informed.

Panda referred to the success stories of a number of private enterprises like Good Earth, BIBA, Tulsi, South Handlooms, Sundari Silks, Angadi silks, etc. dealing with ethnic handwoven fabrics have come up in the recent past. “Their success reflects the potential of handloom as a niche product for meeting the need of high end customers. Such private entrepreneurs are being encouraged to undertake design
development as per the market demand and assist the handloom weavers for production of fabrics with new design. Such efforts are being encouraged for promotion of designing along with marketing tie ups”, he said.

The ministry also has taken E-commerce initiative for marketing handloom fabrics. A Memorandum Of
Understanding (MOU)was signed with M/s Flipkart for providing a platform to the handloom weavers for marketing handloom products directly to the consumers.

“This initiative is required to be developed further. In due course, this measure will lead to enhancement in the wage of the primary producers by eliminating intermediaries and also provide him market information on a continuous basis in time with ease”, he remarked.