The handloom industry, a cornerstone of our cultural heritage, is currently facing a grave challenge. Shockingly, nearly 80+% of "handmade" products sold in the domestic market are machine-made imitations, deceiving customers and undermining the livelihoods of genuine weavers & artisans.
- To address this issue, we have introduced blockchain-backed Digital Product Passports (DPP) to ensure transparency and authenticity for handloom products.
- In the European Union, proving the sustainability of fashion products is increasingly becoming a regulatory requirement. While Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are not yet mandatory for all products, the EU's 'Green Deal' and the proposed 'Sustainable Products Initiative' aim to make DPPs compulsory across various industries, including textiles, in the next 2 years. This initiative will require brands to provide detailed, transparent data about the product's lifecycle, from raw materials to disposal, to ensure compliance with strict sustainability standards. By adopting DPP now, a handloom brand can gain a competitive edge in global markets like the EU and demonstrate leadership in transparency and authenticity, which are highly valued by eco-conscious consumers in the US and beyond.
- For eg: , If we consider the brand, Tod's, founded by Filippo Della Valle in Italy's Marche region, is renowned for its luxury footwear and leather goods, epitomizing Italian craftsmanship and timeless design. The brand has introduced a Digital Product Passport (DPP) for its iconic di bag, utilizing aura blockchain technology and an NFC tag to provide customers with detailed information on the bag's materials, production processes, and sustainability credentials, ensuring authenticity and transparency.
How our DPP works:
- Every handloom product is embedded with an NFC chip and also a QR code as well if required. By simply tapping the chip on any smart phone or scanning the QR code with a smartphone, customers can access detailed information from seed to shelf, including:
- The raw materials used.
- The weavers who crafted the products.
- The entire journey of the product as per the European union DPP standards.
This innovative technology guarantees authenticity, allowing consumers to make informed decisions and directly support genuine weavers & artisans.
Why This Matters.
- Empowers real handloom weavers & artisans by distinguishing their work from imitations.
- Builds trust and transparency for customers.
- Preserves the cultural heritage of India’s handloom industry.
- We seek support in promoting this initiative, ensuring the protection of artisans and the preservation of handloom authenticity. Together, we can create a significant impact on the industry, fostering sustainability and fair trade practices.
- We recently showcased our pilot project, implemented in the Paravur Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society in Chendamangalam, Cochin, Kerala, to the Private Secretary to Kerala Industries Minister. Impressed by our initiative, he introduced us to the Director of the Directorate of Handloom & Textiles, Kerala, India.
- Subsequently, in November this year, we were invited to present our project to representatives of Kerala's handloom clusters at a cluster meeting held at the Directorate of Handloom & Textiles headquarters in Trivandrum, Kerala. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with participants expressing keen interest in the project. They assured us that they would discuss the proposal with the Presidents and Secretaries of their respective societies and follow up with us to explore implementation in their co-operative societies, especially those handloom societies who are already exporting currently their products to abroad countries and this DPP implementation will open their windows to European Union countries as well.
- Our ultimate goal is to present this innovative feature to the Government of India and the Ministry of Textiles as a superior alternative to the existing Handloom Mark. The current Handloom Mark lacks credibility as it can be easily forged, and even the newer version with QR codes offers no detailed information when scanned with mobile devices.
- In contrast, our blockchain-backed Digital Product Passport (DPP) system, integrated with NFC chips, is tamper-proof, non-duplicable, and adheres to European standards for transparency, authenticity, and traceability. These unique features ensure complete trustworthiness and make it impossible to forge or replicate.
- This system not only guarantees the authenticity of handloom products but also provides comprehensive traceability, making it a game-changer for the handloom sector. Moreover, its versatility allows implementation across various industries. We are proud to pioneer this groundbreaking technology in the fashion industry, setting a new benchmark for transparency and authenticity in handmade products.
- We have our upcoming ecommerce site & marketplace where we will be selling only natural fiber made machine made clothing & apparels.
- We would also like to highlight our ecommerce website is a dedicated handloom marketplace as well. This platform allows us to sell our own handcrafted products and provides a space for any handloom seller, cooperative society, or independent weaver or any online or offline handloom seller who makes authentic handcrafted products to register as a vendor and sell their products across India and to over more than 180+ countries worldwide.
- We would be delighted to discuss this initiative further and explore opportunities for collaboration. Looking forward for support in bringing innovation and sustainability to the textile industry.