The Covid-19 crisis has made survival difficult for many, including the weaver community. Handloom weavers slipped into a quagmire of despair as sales were negligible, and their only source of income — by spinning magical weaves — had no demand. However, the warmth and camaraderie in the fashion industry always shows the power of solidarity, as they shine light on those who need it the most, especially in trying times
like these.
Many fashion houses and e-commerce websites came forward to promote handloom goods and spread awareness about looms. Also, Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani, and the textile secretary, worked towards the welfare of weavers across the country by promoting handloom.
As the fashion economy has a positive environmental impact by keeping handloom goods in play, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) launched campaigns, such as Meet the Makers. They also started a Covid-19 Support Fund to support up and coming designers across the country.
Moving forward, the FDCI’s support fund will bring smiles on the faces of weavers as well. “Today onwards, the FDCI board has decided to help handloom weavers through the new-found Covid-19 Support Fund. We will be buying merchandise from weavers, which would be used to make high-in-demand cotton masks or ensembles. The idea behind this is to buy unsold handloom fabrics stocked with them, which would help the weaving community earn a better livelihood,” says Sunil Sethi, chairman of FDCI, who believes that the answer to
the buzzword, sustainability, is handloom. The weavers would be identified by DC Handloom under the Ministry of Textiles.
FDCI board member Rahul Mishra feels it’s time to involve weavers in what we do and value their art. “I was a part of FDCI board meetings, wherein the purpose was to promote handloom and give the weavers a better future. This is a cyclic process. We buy, sell and then go back to weavers to buy more. This isn’t charity, but valuing art and craft, that FDCI is doing,” he adds.
Source: Hindustan Times
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