You can order a Kancheepuram silk, Mangalgiri cotton or Coimbatore silk cotton saree online. And when you do so, there is a good chance now that the fabric could come directly from the weavers.
Since the introduction of the policy framework by the Centre last August to promote e-marketing of handloom products, 13 e-commerce entities have partnered with the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms) to market handloom products from specific handloom clusters across the country.
“In the last one year, these companies registered sales of Rs.1.7 crore,” said Alok Kumar, the Development Commissioner. “Some portals work in one or two clusters and some with even three or four.”
E-commerce entities that are interested can submit an application to the office of the Development Commissioner. They need to have a separate space in the portal to sell the products that are woven in the select clusters. The products have the Handloom Mark or the India Handloom Brand.
Open-door policy“We have an open door policy. So far, we have 13 partners and a few more e-commerce entities are willing to partner with us,” he said. Co-operative societies, apex societies, and weavers can sell on these portals directly.
On taking weavers to digital commerce, Puneet Gupta, category leader, Apparel, Amazon Fashion, said the Crafted in India store, launched by Amazon last October, already has over 4,000 products listed, which includes sarees, jewellery, and footwear. Co-operatives, master weavers, and sellers of authentic handloom selection are part of the platform.
Amazon India, which has also partnered with the Office of the Development Commissioner, works with weavers in Rajasthan (Kota), West Bengal (Nadia), Odisha (Bargarh), and Telangana (Pochampally).
The company’s director and general manager, Seller Services, Gopal Pillai, said Amazon educates, trains, and enables the co-operatives and weavers in these states to sell their products directly. The weavers are introduced to the Internet and they are encouraged to learn more about returns.
