— A Thought-Provoking Wake-Up Call by Save Handloom Foundation
Everywhere you look online today — from Amazon to Instagram — you’ll see words like “Handloom Bedsheet,” “Handblock Printed Saree,” and “Authentic Indian Craft.”
But let’s pause and ask the one question that most people don’t dare to:
👉 Is it really handloom? Or is it just a cleverly disguised lie wrapped in buzzwords and synthetic threads?
🔍 The Ugly Truth Behind “Handblock Printed Handloom”
Most of what’s being sold today under the label “Handloom” or “Handblock Printed” is neither.
It’s a powerloom or mill-made synthetic fabric — usually polyester, nylon, viscose, or spandex blends — that gets a handblock print slapped on it, and is then sold at a premium as a “handloom product.”
That’s not just misleading. It’s daylight robbery of both the consumer and the craftsman.
Let’s be clear once and for all:
🧵 A handblock print on a powerloom or synthetic fabric is not handloom.
💨 It’s not breathable, not sustainable, and not traditional.
🌿 It’s chemical, artificial, and often dangerous for your skin.
If a product must be called handloom, the base fabric itself must be woven on a handloom, by human hands — not on a powerloom, not by electricity, not in a factory.
Only then can we say it carries the soul of the craft.
⚠️ The Double Deception: Machine Printing Masquerading as “Handblock”
Here’s the second layer of cheating.
Even the so-called “handblock printing” that many brands claim today — isn’t really done by hand anymore.
Many sellers have quietly replaced artisans with automated roller machines that mimic handblock designs, sometimes even digitally printed to look “imperfect” — the irony!
So you’re not getting:
- handloom fabric, nor
- handblock printing.
What you’re really getting is a powerloom-made, synthetic fabric with machine-made prints, sold under the emotionally loaded tag of “Handloom India.”
And customers, thinking they’re supporting artisans and heritage, end up sleeping on plastic fibers.
😔 The Consumer Betrayal: When “Art” Becomes a Marketing Gimmick
The tragedy isn’t just that people are being cheated financially.
It’s that they’re being cheated emotionally.
When you buy a handloom product, you believe you’re supporting:
- a weaver in Chendamangalam, Kutch, or Balaramapuram,
- a craft passed down for generations,
- a sustainable way of living that respects nature.
But what you actually end up supporting, in most cases, is:
- a factory churning out synthetic blends by the ton,
- chemical dyes that harm rivers and workers,
- and brokers who’ve never touched a loom in their life.
You pay ₹1,500 for a “handloom bedsheet” that actually costs ₹250 to produce on a machine.
The real handloom weaver, meanwhile, struggles to survive on ₹200 a day.
This is not business.
This is betrayal disguised as art.
🧬 The Breathability Test: Your Skin Knows the Truth
You don’t need a lab to find out whether your fabric is handloom or not.
Your body already knows.
Try sleeping on a real handloom cotton bedsheet once.
It breathes. It cools you naturally. It absorbs sweat.
Now try sleeping on one of these “fake handloom” powerloom bedsheets.
You’ll wake up sweating, uncomfortable, maybe even with skin irritation.
That’s because polyester traps heat and moisture, while natural handloom cotton allows airflow.
Your skin knows authenticity better than any label ever could.
🔥 The Industry’s Silent Scandal
Let’s expose some common frauds happening today in the name of “handloom”:
- Powerloom Fabric + Handblock Print = Sold as Handloom
→ Fake. The base fabric must be handwoven to qualify. - Machine-Printed Designs Sold as Handblock Printed
→ Fake. If no artisan holds a block dipped in natural dye, it’s not handblock. - Synthetic Blend Sold as Cotton or Linen Handloom
→ Fake. Polyester and nylon don’t belong anywhere near handloom. - Digital Print Sarees Marketed as Block Prints
→ Fake. Look closely — uniform prints mean it’s done by machine, not hand. - Use of Chemical Dyes on Machine Fabrics Sold as “Natural Dye Handloom”
→ Fake. True natural dyes don’t stick evenly — that imperfection is their beauty.
💪 The Save Handloom Stand: No Compromise. No Half-Truths.
At Save Handloom Foundation, we draw a clear, uncompromising line:
If the base fabric is not handloom,
it is not handloom — no matter what’s printed on it.
If the printing is not done by human hands using real wooden blocks,
it is not handblock printing.
We call it as it is — because someone has to.
India’s handloom industry doesn’t need pity. It needs protection from counterfeiters.
🕊️ The Way Forward: Verify Before You Buy
Before buying anything labeled “handloom”, ask these questions:
✅ Was the base fabric woven on a handloom?
✅ What fibers were used — 100% cotton, silk, or linen (natural) or synthetic?
✅ Is the print done by hand or machine?
✅ Can the seller prove authenticity — through a Digital Product Passport (DPP) or NFC traceability?
At Save Handloom Foundation, we’re implementing Blockchain-backed Digital Product Passports to help customers verify every single detail — from the weaver’s name to the yarn origin — by simply scanning a QR or NFC tag.
No more guessing. No more fakes.
💬 Final Thought
Handloom is not a look — it’s a labor of love.
It carries the rhythm of the loom, the soul of the artisan, and the purity of natural fiber.
When someone sells you a synthetic bedsheet as “handloom,” they aren’t just cheating you —
they’re spitting on centuries of craftsmanship.
So the next time you see a “Handblock Handloom Bedsheet” online for ₹499,
ask yourself one thing:
Are you buying heritage —
or just another factory-made illusion?
Save Handloom Foundation
Protecting Authenticity. Preserving Tradition. Promoting Truth.