Ensuring Authenticity in Handloom Purchases: The Role of Handlooom.com
Handloom products have long been cherished for their quality, design, and contribution to the heritage of traditional weaving techniques. However, with the rise of powerloom textiles and the influx of synthetic fibers, customers face challenges in distinguishing between genuine handloom and fake products. This blog explores the difficulties faced by customers and introduces Handlooom.com, a new handloom brand that aims to provide a solution by offering a one-year warranty on their products.
1. The Challenge of Identifying Real Handloom:
a. Lack of Knowledge: Many customers, both novice and experienced, struggle to differentiate between handloom and powerloom products, as well as identify the use of synthetic or natural fibers.
b. Limited Testing Options: Traditional methods like burning a fiber to check its composition are not feasible for in-store purchases.
c. Reliance on Usage: Customers often rely on using the product over time to determine its authenticity, but this can be an unreliable method.
2. Features to Identify Real Handloom:
a. Softening with Each Wash: Genuine handloom products become softer with every wash, unlike powerloom counterparts.
b. Absence of Microfibers: Natural fiber-based handlooms do not release microfibers, which is a common trait of synthetic fibers.
3. Challenges Faced in Exhibitions:
a. Deceptive Sellers: Some stalls at exhibitions may falsely claim to sell handloom products but actually offer powerloom alternatives, leaving customers with no recourse for returns or complaints.
b. Impact on Weavers and Artisans: Decreased demand for handloom products due to customer dissatisfaction affects the livelihoods of weavers and artisans.
4. Introducing Handlooom.com – Ensuring Authenticity:
a. One-Year Warranty: Handlooom.com offers a one-year warranty on all products sold on their e-commerce platform, providing customers with peace of mind.
b. Complaint Resolution: Customers dissatisfied with their purchase can contact the Handlooom.com customer support team to log a complaint.
c. Testing and Refund: If a customer can prove that a product is made of synthetic fibers or produced using powerloom techniques at a government-recognized textile testing lab, they are eligible for a full refund and a reward of 25,000 INR or 300 USD.
d. Encouraging Industry-Wide Change: Handlooom.com advocates for all handloom sellers to provide a one-year warranty and maintain open communication channels with customers, fostering trust and ensuring authenticity.
Conclusion:
Handlooom.com aims to address the challenges faced by customers in identifying genuine handloom products and supporting the livelihoods of weavers and artisans. By offering a one-year warranty, a complaint resolution process, and a reward for assisting in identifying fake products, Handlooom.com aims to instill trust and promote a customer-first approach in the handloom industry. Through their initiatives, Handlooom.com hopes to pave the way for widespread adoption of similar practices, ensuring the continued growth and preservation of handloom craftsmanship.