Handloom Weaving
Handloom, A Time Less Tradition & Its positive Environmental Impact
With modernization, there has been a drastic increase in the consumption of resources over the decades in the textile & apparel industry. This has depleted the earth and its environment while also taking away employment opportunities from people. In contrast, the ancient practice of handloom weaving is sustainable and ethical. Let’s talk about the contribution of the Handloom sector in more depth:
HISTORY OF INDIAN HANDLOOM:
India has a rich handloom history of producing the most beautiful textiles. It dates all the way back to the Indus valley civilization. Later the fabrics would even be exported to Egypt, Rome and China.
Decline:
Pre-Independence, raw cotton would be exported out of the nation while mill spun yarns were imported. To discourage locally handspun and handwoven fabrics, heavy taxes were imposed on Handloom fabric along with the introduction mill produced cotton fabric. This resulted in the introduction of the middlemen who created disputes and took away the independence of weavers.
With the beginning of power looms and the high cost of yarn, the handloom sector could not compete with the mill produced fabrics. Such challenges led to the downfall of the handloom industry.
Revival:
Mahatma Gandhi started the Swadeshi Movement to help the weavers of India continue their work and support the tradition of India. The Swadeshi movement encouraged the people to boycott the use of mill produced fabrics and continue the use of khadi.
Since the 90's liberalisation, there has been an influx and growth of cheap mass-produced power loom fabrics which were design imitations made of poor quality materials. Being low cost, the handloom industry had to now compete with these cheap textiles. With a higher cost of natural yarns and a decline in demand, handloom weavers have been opting for other job opportunities rather than handweaving.
HANDLOOM & SUSTAINABILITY:
Handloom or any handmade craft for that matter go hand in hand with sustainability. Here is a list of ways, handloom is benefitting the environment:
“It takes 132 million metric tons of coal to power all the plants that produce fabric for the world. In contrast, making handloom cloth doesn’t need to consume even one piece of coal. Handloom is done without electricity or emissions.”
“It is calculated that about 1.1 tons of CO2 is cut by using handloom produced fabric rather than power loom produced fabric.”
Team Anuprerna
At Anuprerna, We Requests Everyone To Contribute And Share. This Way We Can Create Global Recognition For These Beautiful Handwoven Craft & Textiles To Bestow Value Onto The Ordinary Lives Of Our Artisans With Extraordinary Skills. And We Believe That's The Only Way We Can Build A Sustainable And Ethical World For Us.
