Why India needs to rethink the way we buy clothes — from fashion-first to climate-first Walk into any clothing store today and one question dominates our buying decisions: “Is this trending?” A new colour is trending. A new cut is trending. A new silhouette is trending. A new Instagram aesthetic is trending. And before we […]
Stop Dressing for Trends. Start Dressing for the Weather Read More »
Every day, we are told that the future belongs to technology. Artificial Intelligence is writing code, diagnosing diseases, creating art, and transforming businesses. Electric vehicles are replacing petrol-powered cars. Hydrogen is being hailed as the fuel that could power the next industrial revolution. Humans are planning missions to Mars, building quantum computers, and dreaming of
The Future Isn’t About AI. It’s About Saving the Earth. Read More »
Walk into any mall in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kochi, or Delhi today, and you will notice something fascinating. The racks never seem empty. Every week, new collections arrive. Every month, hundreds of fresh designs replace the old ones. Fashion has become as disposable as a social media post. A dress seen on Instagram today appears
Fast Fashion, Slow Fashion, and the Choice India Is About to Make Read More »
THE ₹500 DRESS WAS NEVER REALLY ₹500 For years, fashion has lived with a strange economic illusion. A dress can pass through raw-material production, spinning, dyeing, cutting, stitching, packaging, international shipping, customs processing, digital advertising and last-mile delivery—and still arrive at someone’s doorstep cheaper than a family dinner. The obvious question is: How? The uncomfortable
Every day we hear about charities receiving donations from individuals, support from companies through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and even grants from international organisations. We admire the schools they build, the hospitals they support, the lives they transform, and the communities they uplift. Yet very few people ever stop to ask an important question: what
“Most people think charity begins with generosity. In reality, it begins with accountability.” Walk into any social gathering in India and ask a simple question: “Why don’t more people start charities if they genuinely want to help others?” The answers usually sound simple. “Because they don’t have enough money.” “Because they don’t have enough time.”
When I first imagined Handlooom.com, I thought I was building an ecommerce company. A place where people could buy authentic handloom products. A platform that would connect artisans with customers. A business. Nothing more. Or so I believed. The more I travelled through weaving communities, the more I realised I had misunderstood the industry entirely.
The Day I Realised We Were Not Selling Clothes—We Were Preserving a Civilization Read More »
This is probably the hardest question I’ve been asked since starting Handlooom.com. “If a handloom saree sells for ₹8,000 or ₹15,000, why isn’t the weaver wealthy?” At first glance, it seems like an obvious contradiction. Expensive products. Highly skilled artisans. Centuries-old craftsmanship. Yet many weaving families continue to face financial uncertainty. For a long time,
If Handmade Products Sell for Thousands, Why Do So Many Weavers Still Struggle? Read More »
One of the most common questions I hear is: “Why should I spend ₹5,000 on a handloom saree when I can buy something similar online for ₹999?” It’s a fair question. But it’s also a question built on an illusion. Because the two products are rarely the same. One is made by machines designed to
When people admire a handloom product, they usually see the finished piece. A beautiful saree. A soft cotton shirt. An elegant stole. A perfectly woven table runner. What they don’t see is the invisible supply chain behind it. Before starting Handlooom.com, I assumed that if demand increased, production would naturally increase as well. That’s how
Everyone Wants Handmade. Almost Nobody Understands How It Is Actually Made. Read More »
