ETHICAL CONSUMERISM: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIAN HANDCRAFTED AND HANDLOOM TEXTILE SECTORS

Research Project PresentationBy

Noorani Biswas (12DFT0025)2013

OBJECTIVE• The main objective is firstly, to closely analyse the consumer

activism of ethical sourcing, which is creating awareness among consumers to buy products which is ethical, in the sense of socially responsible, environment friendly and economical. How Ethical consumerism is effecting on the purchase of green and ethical product?

• Secondly, to research the current scenario of Indian handcrafted and handloom textile sectors in Globalization.

• And thirdly, to analyse the opportunities created by the ethical consumerism for the Indian Handcrafted and Handloom textile sectors, which can be leveraged in its growth.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• Primary Data Collection: Customer survey to analyse the mentality of Indian consumers towards Ethical product. Indian exporters and market demand survey through questioners.

• Secondary Data Collection: Articles, books, research document, Case studies, etc.

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICAL CONSUMERISM

• Consumption is not a straightforward process. When we buy a commodity we are also responsible for the process it goes through to reach us. Under what conditions was an item of clothing or a new computer manufactured? Were workers paid fair wages? Were they exposed to harmful substances during the production process? Which products and which companies do I want to support with my purchases? Do I buy food in a supermarket, around the corner at a local vendor or at a weekly outdoor market? How will the product ultimately perish – will its destruction lead to polluting the earth, water or air? The term “ethical consumption” refers to selective consumption based on awareness of the environmental, social and economic aspects of consumption.

GREEN AND ETHICAL FASHION• People around the world have become more concerned about environmental (‘green’) issues. They

worry about climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, fuel prices, and the impact that products may have on the environment. Public awareness of the escalating problems due to diminishing natural resources is helping focus attention on the need to adopt sustainable and healthy lifestyles. This scenario has fuelled the latest trend of ethical fashion. It’s now hip to show off your green and ethical credentials and the fashion industry has joined the party.

• But what really is sustainable clothing and is it different from eco or organic clothing? While concepts of “sustainable clothing” and “organic clothing” share many similarities, they have different roots and history. Where organic clothing grew and evolved out of the organic agriculture movement, sustainable clothing is a product of the environmental movement. They are both working towards the same ends but one has the feel of the farm and the other has the feel of the lab. One of the most apparent differences between the organic approach and the sustainable approach is the emphasis that the sustainable approach places on reuse and recycling of manufactured products.

• Improving a corporation’s sustainability footprint and reducing environmental impact is about more than just recycling materials. It requires a more holistic corporate approach that includes reusing environmental-friendly packaging, reducing manufacturing and operational waste and pollution, improving building energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption, moving towards the use of renewable energy, improving shipping and transportation efficiencies, and designing sustainability into the products and services that are sold to the public.

TEXTILE ECOLOGY• To analyse the sustainability and ethicalness of a Textile product, we need to

analyse the life cycle assessment of textile or Textile ecology. Textile ecology consists of four sectors: production ecology, human ecology, performance ecology and disposal ecology.

1. Production ecologyIt examines the impact of production processes on people and environment, e.g. occupational health and safety, material, water and energy consumption, waste water and waste treatment as well as generation of dust and noise.

2. Human ecologyHuman ecology deals with the impact of textiles and their chemical ingredients on the health and well-being of humans.

3. Performance ecologyPerformance ecology comes in at the usage phase of textile products. It examines the environmental impact of washing, cleaning and caring for textiles.

4. Disposal ecologyAnalyses the problems connected with disposal, reuse, recycling and removal (thermal recycling or landfill) of textiles.

ETHICAL ALTERNATIVES IN FASHION

• Organic Cotton• Organic Wool• Organic and Peace Silk • Cellulosic Fibres • Bio based alternatives• Natural Dyes

• Global awareness and demand for sustainability has spurred industries to develop process and systems to bring sustainable and ethical principles. Companies are focusing that, the need of their consumers are met without much damage to the environment. During the past few years, with the wake of global warming effects, sustainability has gained increased importance among businesses. New methods are applied in business practices to reduce pollution by better utilization of raw materials, and also to improve financial results. Technological improvements help to foster sustainable business practices.

• Sustainability is recognised as a major concern throughout the textile and garment industry. Innovative solution has not only improved production at each stage of the textile and garment chain, but also save on costs, energy, chemical inputs, water and waste, ultimately reduces emission. Innovative technologies are designed, developed, and marketed around the world. The speed of innovation has increased and technological landscape is going through rapid changes, reversing the negative effects of the textile industry.

1. Laser engraving (Denim industry) by Spanish company Jeanologia2. ‘Waterless’ G2 Washing Machine by Spanish company Jeanologia3. Italian company Tonello Garment Finishing Technologies introduced G1 N2 Nitrogen Dyeing Machine. ‘Waterless’ dyeing is another

technology, which dyes fabric with absolutely no water at all, being taken up by big sports brands including Puma and Adidas. 4. Branded DryDye are developed by the Yeh Group in Thailand, DryDye are dyed using only CO2 and high pressure, a form of dyeing

which lowers chemical inputs and reduces energy and dye stuffs, and uses no water at all.

RECYCLING: A SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION1. Plastic bottles into polyester: Newlife, the recycled polyester yarn from Filatura Miroglio2. Fishing nets into nylon yarns: Recycled nylon yarn has been developed by Italian synthetic fibre producer Aquafil3. Jute sacks into Starbuck interior: UK firm Camira with yarn developed by Wools of New Zealand.4. Recycle fibre into new fabric: Cardato Regenerated CO2 neutral, Wool recycling in the city of Prato, 22000 tons of textiles a year,

GLOBAL INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY: TEXTILE AND APPAREL INDUSTRY

PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS ETHICAL PRODUCTS

• People do think and care about ethical, social, environmental, and health concerns and would purchase a green product over an environmentally problematic product. But consumers will only buy an ethical product if it doesn’t cost more, comes from a brand they know and trust, can be purchased at stores where they already shop, doesn’t require a significant change in habits to use, and has the same level of quality, performance, and endurance as the less-social alternative. Let’s understand how social consumption fits into our general understanding of consumption behaviour.

SURVEY RESULTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

• On asking the participants to arrange a list of product features according to their preference while buying a product: Utility, Quality and Cost were the top 3 preference whereas Environment friendly, Fair trade and Child labour free were last 3 preferences out of 10 product features. Around 46.7% of participants gave first preference to Utility and 76.6% of respondent opted Child labour free as least preferred feature while buying a product. This clearly indicates that consumers prefer primary features first.

• On asking for preference of ethical features while buying an ethical product: 42.9% gave first preference to Environment friendly product, 32.1% gave first preference to Healthy products and 46.4% gave least preference to fair wages to labour. Consumers first take care of themselves in the environment then care about others related in the product supply chain. Ethical feature will be accepted as primary features only if it relate to or benefit the consumers directly.

• 30% admitted that they never bought any ethical product. This shows they are not aware of the ethical consumerism nor they have accessibility to ethical products and hence not motivated to buy ethical products.

• 93% said they would buy ethical product if it is affordable. Though some research claims that, consumers are willing to pay more to buy ethical product, but is very little in number who actually buy ethical products at more price than other similar products.

• The survey also shows that 36.7% admitted that they would prefer an unethical product with good product features over an ethical product with less product features. This makes clear that ethical products cannot ignore the competition faced from product & design innovation and technological up gradation. The ethical products will survive in a market only if it provides same or better product features than the similar products present in the market at an affordable price.

• About 62.1% said they will look for authentic eco-labels or certification while buying an ethical product. And about 27.6% said they will rely upon the company, offering ethical product. Consumers feel it is company’s responsibility to promote their ethical features in product as only 10.3% of the participants said they will take proactive steps to find out the ethicalness of the product themselves. Hence if a company is dealing in ethical product it should get authentic certification or eco-labels to attract ethical consumers and promote its ethical activities to make the consumer aware of their products.

• 51.7% preferred to buy ethical products from nearby shops over shopping online or buying from store at a long distance from home. The degree of accessibility of ethical product will also affect in the purchase of ethical products.

SURVEY RESULTS OF ETHICAL BUSINESS

• Along with consumers survey it is important to understand the current business practice towards ethical consumerism. As the consumers are getting aware of ethical issues and demanding products which is, environmental friendly, sustainable and socially responsible, companies also need to stand up to the international standards of ethical business and provide ethical products. Only producing and selling products is not enough, the companies need to promote their social and ethical causes behind their product. They have to make the customers trust them of their authenticity.

• There is a difference between consumer demands and actual number of ethical products getting sold. Ethical consumerism and awareness is on rage but this activism is not showing in the sells chart. Almost 50% of companies participated said they have less demand in market for ethical products. Only 25% says they have good demand for their ethical products.

• Despite of less demand, the market is slowly moving towards ethical business and will acquire a big share in future. According to survey 58.3% company said they are already dealing in ethical products and 25% are planning enter ethical business in next 5yrs and other 16.7% in 10 yrs.

• Around 41.7% are certified with eco-labels and standard certifications. It is also found that 33.3% find lack of knowledge about the certification and there benefits. Unfortunately many companies are taking ethical causes to promote their products without taking ethical steps to produce or source the products. Many are fraud claiming of being an ethical company whereas others who are actually ethical are not getting the benefits of being ethical because of lack of knowledge.

• This clearly shows that there is no doubt that demand for ethical products is increasing. But to meet the demand and gain out of this market activism there is need to fill out the missing links and gaps in the producer consumer relation.

ECOLABELS• How do consumers and institutional buyers know if something is ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly’? As environmental qualities are

often imperceptible in the final product, producers need to make them visible to consumers.

• Many ecolabels and eco-certification schemes have been launched to validate green claims, guide green purchasing, and improve environmental performance standards. Done well, ecolabels and eco-certifications can provide an effective baseline within industry sectors by encouraging best practice and providing guidelines that companies must meet in order to meet a certified standard. Demand for products with ecolabels is growing, though confusion about which companies are truly environmentally responsible persists.

• Several large companies and government agencies have recently announced or improved their green- or eco-purchasing policies, notably Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Mars, Dow, Dell and the US Federal Government. In order to meet their policies, these large-scale institutional purchasers need standards, detailed information, and proof that a product is green.

• The ecolabel and eco-certification landscape is currently fragmented and often confusing to institutional buyers as well as individual consumers. Marketplace confusion has grown and continues to grow due to competing claims on what makes a product ‘green’, especially when there are two or more competing schemes for the same sector or product. Some ecolabels are regionally specific, while others are global; and some have stricter criteria than others. Compounding the problem is a lack of good quality standardized and comparable information worldwide. According to a European market research study (OECD, 2006), marketing, consumer confusion and competition between similar schemes has caused low market penetration for some ecolabels.

• It is very important for manufacturers and sellers to choose ecolabel which is globally accepted and meets global quality standards. It should get certification which is known and appreciated by their specific market.

• According to ecolabelndex, there are around than 103 ecolabels on textiles products and textile raw materials, which provides certification and labelling for eco-friendly and sustainable products in various countries. We will focus on the ecolabels with international standards which is beneficial for Indian textile industry.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS FOR CERTIFICATION OF SUSTAINABLILITY AND ECOLABELS IN TEXTILE AND APPAREL INDUSTRY

• INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION

• INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS

• EUROPEAN UNION (EU)• USDA ORGANIC• GOTS (THE GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARD) • OEKO-TEX® • FAIR TRADE-FAIRTRADE LABELLING ORGANISATIONS

INTERNATIONAL (FLO), WORLD FAIR TRADE ORGANIZATION

Introduction: Indian handloom and handcrafted textile sector

• Handloom and Handcrafted textiles of India represent our cultural tradition in true sense, as Indian way of life is replete with fabrics made with the help of simple, indigenous technique of dyeing, printing, weaving and embroidering, by crafts people who belong within a strong fabric of tradition, aesthetic and artistry. The range of Indian Handcrafted textile is as diverse as the culture diversity of the country. They embody our heritage of creativity, aesthetics and craftsmanship. At a more substantial level the Handicraft tradition has sustained generation of people in our country. As a highly decentralized activity the Handicraft industry is a shining example of using local resources and local initiatives.

• Handloom Textiles• Jamawar shawls of Kashmir; Kullu shawls of Himanchal Pradesh; Ikat sarees and fabrics from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat

(Partan Patola) and Orissa; Chanderi from Madhya Pradesh; Jamdani and Baluchari from West Bengal, And many more silk/wool/ cotton handloom products from various states of India.

• Handcrafted Textiles• Hand embroidered Textiles: Kantha from Bihar and West Bengal; Lace & Crochet goods in Narsapur (Andhra

Pradesh); Embroidered goods in Kutch, Chikenkari of Lucknow; Kashida embroidery Srinagar (J&K), Phulkari of Punjab and Zari & Zardosi items;

• Block printed/ painted and dyed textiles: Block prints and Tie dye of Rajasthan; Ajrakh ( Block printed natural dyed textile) of Kutch; Kalamkar of Andhra Pradesh; Hand paintings of Madhubani from Bihar, Patachitra from Orissa, Worli painting from Maharashtra, etc

• Despite their cultural and economic importance, however, both handlooms and handcrafted textile sectors suffer from perennial problems of weak infrastructure, inadequate availability of inputs at regular prices, poor supply chain systems and ineffective marketing and sales practices. Limited private entrepreneurial support has increased the sectors’ dependence on Government resources and the lack of a universally recognised definition of ‘handicraft’ remains a challenge. Further, the lack of synergy between handlooms, handicrafts, and khadi and the village industry sectors leads to inefficient utilization of resources. Although these sectors are distinct, they have an undercurrent of commonality. The sectors, therefore, need to be administered with greater synergy.

• HANDLOOM TEXTILES• Handloom weaving is one of the largest economic activity next to agriculture providing direct and indirect

employment to more than 43 lakh weavers and allied workers. This sector contributes nearby 15% of the cloth production in the country and also contributes to the export earning of the country. 95% of the world’s hand woven fabric comes from India.

• It is estimated that today there are about 4.60 million handlooms in the world out of which about 3.9 million are in India.

• During 2011-12 production in the handloom sector is reported to be 5178 million sqr. meters (April – Dec.,2011). While the major producers are India followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, the main importers of textiles & clothing were the USA, UK, France and Italy.

• HANDCRAFTED TEXTILE• Handcrafted Textiles refer to textile items made by hand with the use of simple tools, generally artistic and

/or traditional in nature, used for decorative purposes, including gifts and souvenirs as well as for utility purposes. Handcrafted textile is a huge portion of the Indian handicraft sector.

• India’s main handcrafted Textile items are Hand-printed and hand-embroidered textiles like, Block prints Jaipur (Rajasthan); Ajrakh( Block printed natural dyed textile) of Kutch; Kalamkari; Lace & Crochet goods in Narsapur (Andhra Pradesh); Embroidered goods in Kutch, Chikenkari Lucknow; Kashida embroidery Srinagar (J&K), Phulkari of Punjab and Zari & Zardosi items; Hand paintings of Madhubani, Patchitra, Worli, etc.

• It is estimated by Ministry of Textiles that exports constitute about 60% of the total production of the handicrafts sector, and the remaining 40% is consumed domestically.

• Despite a worldwide slowdown, steps taken by the Government led to total handicraft exports increasing by 3.05% in 2009-10, followed by a 20.51% increase during 2010-11, to reach a level of `13,526.70 crore. Exports have further increased by 24.58% during the last year (2011-12) of the 11th Plan and amounted to Rs. 16,851.27 crore.

GLOBALAIZATION• Globalization is a process which refers to the growing socio-economic

interdependence of countries worldwide through rising size and variety of transactions of goods and services, capital flows, widespread diffusion of technology across border and moreover the interaction and interdependence of people and culture throughout the world.

• India opened up its economy and adapted to globalisation in the early nineties. Major changes initiated as a part of the liberalisation and globalisation strategy included scrapping of the industrial ‘license raj’ (referring to the regulated and controlled economic policy by the state for running business), reduction in the number of areas reserved for the public sector, amendment of the monopolies and the restrictive trade practices act, start of the privatisation programme, reduction in tariff rates etc.

• Since the advent of globalization in 1991, India has experienced a lot and accordingly the society has undergone many changes in different spheres. The forces of globalization have ample positive effects in the long-run in many sectors of our economy and society, but it has also made the handloom and handcrafted textile sector vulnerable to global competition and standards.

CHALLENGES IN GLOBALAIZATION• Compromise in Quality: The traditional practice of hand weaving and hand crafts is gradually replaced by machines.

Customers want the products to be cheaper and attractive. Artisans go for more profit, at times ignoring the quality. • Middle man: In the globalization times, though with their products going global and increasing demand for it, there is a rise

in the handicraft sector economy, still the artisans have become increasingly dependent on middle men and trader entrepreneurs who pay the artisans wages on piece rate bases. The low bargaining power of the artists in a liberalized and comparatively more competitive market has forced the artisans to depend upon the middle-men. The government’s initiative to create cooperatives has not become much successful. Craft workers who have little formal education and are rarely organised are subject to many exploitative work conditions.

• Shifting Occupation: A large section of the artisan population in India is illiterate and devoid of formal education. Poverty again makes them become more vulnerable. As a result most of the artists are now a day choosing to shift to other professions rather than to stick into their hereditary occupation. A study by Soma Basu suggests that the weavers of Pattamadai mats of Tamil Nadu in general and women artists in particular are increasingly shifting to the profession like beedi rolling, which is faster and easier and which earns higher returns. A report of the census conducted by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in 1995-96 suggests that, the handloom sector boasts of 3,4 million weavers, whereas in 1987-88, it was 4,3 million. A UN report suggests that over the past three-four decades in India the number of artisans has declined by at least 30 % with many joining the ranks of casual labourers and the informal economy.

• Handmade vs. Machine made: Another problem is that the village craftsmen in our society remain concerned that with free trade, mass production; textile from other parts of the world will out price their own crafts. It has been observed that many textile crafts are replaced by cheap machine and mill made finished textile items these days. Handlooms were replaced by power loom made textiles; hand embroideries with machine embroideries; block prints/ natural dyed with screen prints/ chemical dyed. There is an urgent need for the Indian government to invest more in this sector and support the craftsmen.

• Diminishing Home Market: During the post-liberalization phase “although the rise in income of the middle-class and growth of the tourism industry helped in cultivating the notion of interior decoration and raising the domestic demand for ethnic crafts, the favourable effects of this tendency was not powerful enough to overcome the dampening of the change in consumers’ preferences from the traditional to modern consumption needs under the influence of liberal imports of cheap machine made products and many other factors of globalization regime”. Thus the traditional crafts need to be beautiful and cost effective and maintain proper quality in order to find a place in the competitive market.

SCHEMES/PROGRAMMES FOR THE HANDLOOM SECTOR IN THE ELEVENTH PLAN• MILL GATE PRICE SCHEME (MGPS)• INTEGRATED HANDLOOMS DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (IHDS)• DIVERSIFIED HANDLOOM DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (DHDS)• HANDLOOM WEAVERS' COMPREHENSIVE WELFARE SCHEME• MARKETING & EXPORT PROMOTION SCHEME• HANDLOOM MARK • REVIVAL, REFORM AND RESTRUCTURING PACKAGE• INTEGRATED SKILL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (ISDS)• HANDLOOM RESERVATION• SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS OF NORTH EASTERN REGION• RESTRUCTURED TECHNOLOGY UP-GRADATION FUND SCHEME FOR HANDLOOM SECTOR

SCHEMES/PROGRAMMES FOR THE HANDICRAFTS SECTOR IN THE XIth PLAN• BABASAHEB AMBEDKER HASTSHILP VIKAS YOJNA (AHVY)• DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY UPGRADATION SCHEME (DTUS)• MARKETING SUPPORT AND SERVICES SCHEME (MSS)• HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (HRD)• HANDICRAFTS ARTISANS’ COMPREHENSIVE WELFARE SCHEME• RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (R&D)• INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PACKAGE FOR J&K

HIGHLIGHTS OF ETHICALNESS IN HANDLOOM AND HANDCRAFTED TEXTILE SECTOR

1. Input material used are from organic and natural sources, like organic cotton, domestically grown silk and wool from local sheep.

2. Most of the products of these sectors use recycle materials like threads for embroidery and old used cloths in appliqué and quilts. One of the best examples is kantha quilts, which are made by recycling cotton & silk saris and cloth pieces.

3. Handloom weaving and Handcraft process are environmental friendly and sustainable process. Handlooms don’t run on power hence save a lot of energy in comparison to the power looms.

4. It provides employment to a huge number of craftsmen and artisans supporting their livelihood.

5. Almost 50% of the workers in these sectors are women, who work in their leisure time after doing their daily household work. This provides support for the women empowerment in rural areas.

6. Workers in these sectors work at their house courtyards or cooperative sectors, which has ample space and friendly environment to work. The artisans feel like at home. There condition is a way better than the workers in a sweatshop or a factory.

7. These sectors generally use eco-friendly materials like wood, Iron and jute ropes to build their looms and other tools for weaving; needle and frames for embroidery and wooden blocks for block printing. This imparts minimum damage to the environment.

8. Traditionally, printing and dyeing were natural and vegetable dyed. Use of Indigo for blue, Maddar for red and Iron for black color is very common in these printed textiles which is harmless unlike chemical dyes.

HIGHLIGHTS OF ETHICALNESS IN HANDLOOM AND HANDCRAFTED TEXTILE SECTOR ( cont.)

PERCEPTION OF ETHICAL CONSUMERS TOWORDS HANDCRAFTED AND HANDLOOM TEXTILE PRODUCTS

1. Ethical consumers are looking for products, which is socially responsible. Handcrafted and handloom textile products provides the perfect cause. Buying them is a social cause, a way to support the dying tradition of art & culture and help artisans, as well as taking a piece of heritage home.

2. Consumers are now appreciating the handmade quality of products, which is not possible in factory made products. They like the raw look of hand-woven or hand embroidered fabric, or minor printing mistakes in hand block printed textiles. Consumers want to feel the work of craftsmanship.

3. Organic handloom and handcrafted textiles product impart a safe and harmless image to the consumers. Hence these products are an easy choice for ethical consumers concerned about safety, health and environment.

4. Though handloom and handcrafted textiles have an edge over similar factory made products, due to its’ art and cultural uniqueness as well as ethical aspects, majority of consumers still evaluate the products on the basis of design, quality and cost.

PERCEPTION OF ETHICAL CONSUMERS TOWORDS HANDCRAFTED AND HANDLOOM TEXTILE PRODUCTS ( cont.)

5. With growing ethical demand, customers are also getting aware of fake ethical promotion and concerned about the authenticity of the ethical product. In the market full of eco and green labels claiming there ethical features, they want to trust only in companies with eco- certification under international standards, which differentiate them from rest of the products.

6. Products of handloom and handcrafted textile sectors were widely bought as gift items or for special occasions or functions because they have been presented in this way. Handloom and crafted textiles has the flexibility to get incorporated in products for day to day life. Consumers will be benefited & attracted to the diversified use of handloom and handcrafted textile. It can become the textile for day to day life as well as for celebrations.

7. In today’s fast growing and changing fashion industry, traditional and stereotype designs of handloom and handcrafted textiles are ignored. In textiles, fashion and design plays a major role in driving the purchase decision, trend changes with every season and so the designs.

OPPORTUNITIES TO HANDCRAFT AND HANLOOM TEXTILE PRODUCER DUE TO ETHICAL CONSUMERISM

1. After experiencing a strong competition in international and domestic market in globalization, producers of handloom and handcrafted textile sectors now have the golden opportunity from the market trend, which now prefers handmade over machine made.

2. International demand for organic products will directly benefit Indian cotton farmers, who were organic by default. They just need organic certification from any of the international organic certification like, USDA, IFOAM, etc. to sell their product in global market.

3. Suicide by cotton farmers in India has created concern for them. Consumers want to ensure farmers and workers get a fair price for their product. They want to make sure that the product they buy must benefit the farmers and workers. Hence they want buy from a Fair-trade certified organization, which ensures, that the worker and farmers are fairly waged and get financial assistance for infrastructural up gradation.

4. An emerging group of consumers are exempting buying of dyed products to prevent from risk of harmful chemical dyes and water pollution. They now prefer naturally occurring color in the fibres like natural color in silk, cotton, jute and wool. This kind of consumer choice bring sustainability by reducing the dyeing cost, reducing water pollutions as well as lowering the cost of the product.

OPPORTUNITIES TO HANDCRAFT AND HANLOOM TEXTILE PRODUCER DUE TO ETHICAL CONSUMERISM ( cont.)

5. Producers dealing with printed or dyed textiles should get OKEOTEX certification. This will give assurance to customer about the product safety and eco- friendly dyeing and printing process. This certification will provide international acclaim in the market.

6. Garment manufactures can get GOTS certification for their garments if they source raw material like, cotton with an international organic certification (USDA). This certification is helpful in differentiating the product in the market and globally accepted as one of good certification for organic garments.

7. Government of India has been providing many schemes for infrastructural development, artisan welfare and training along with design and marketing assistance to the producers in this sector. Rising ethical and organic demand has motivated government to invest more and boost the organic and ethical production.

CHALLENGES TO HANDCRAFT AND HANLOOM TEXTILE PRODUCER DUE TO ETHICAL CONSUMERISM

1. Ethical consumerism is a global activism. To gain from this modern market, Indian handloom and handcrafted textile sector have to compete at a global platform, facing all the challenges in design innovation, quality and marketing irrespective of its own financial and unorganised issues.

2. Getting international eco-certifications like organic and fair-trade may be very costly for poor individual farmers and artisans. Lack of certification will restrict them from selling their products even if there product is organic by default.

3. Coming up with a competitive price for product is an issue of concern. Production rate of a handloom cannot match the production rate of power looms, or the hand-embroidery with the machine embroidery. Hence the cost is not competitive with the machine made products, lacking a basic feature that is cost. Ethical consumers support handmade products, but they will buy them only if, it is available at an affordable price.

CHALLENGES TO HANDCRAFT AND HANLOOM TEXTILE PRODUCER DUE TO ETHICAL CONSUMERISM ( cont.)

4. Consumers do care about the quality first. In many cases handloom and handcrafted textile products may lack the quality and finish due to human errors and lack of technology in their products as compared to the factory made quality.

5. Marketing and promotion of these products are difficult for unaware producers, who lack information about the government schemes, market situation and means to promote there ethical products.

CONCLUSION1. Despite of many challenges being faced by handloom and handcrafted textile

sector in globalization and a growing but a very thin layer of actual ethical buyers, the ethical consumerism has provided handloom and handcrafted textile sector an opportunity to come out of its’ niche market to a wider market segment and take a global stand. Now it is not only considered as gift or souvenir but as an organic and ethical textile for diversified use. Handloom and handcrafted products can be used as home as well as lifestyle textiles and ethical consumers need such products with ethical feature and diversified use.

2. Though by getting certified by international eco-labels can make the products eligible for ethical consumers, but to sell the products, it have to qualify the basic desirable feature in a textile product i.e. design, quality and cost according to the market.

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