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...
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...
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...
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...
The day I entered the handloom industry, I expected to learn about fabrics, looms, yarn counts, dyes, and weaving techniques. Instead, I learned something far more disturbing. The biggest problem wasn’t weaving. It was trust. Every product seemed to carry a beautiful story. “Handmade.” “Artisan-made.” “Natural.” “Eco-friendly.” “Traditional.” But when...
For centuries, a handloom product carried a story. A story of a weaver. A story of a family. A story of a village. A story of heritage passed down through generations. But somewhere along the way, that story began disappearing. Today, the biggest enemy of genuine handloom is not changing...
Some people are born into purpose. I was not. I had to fail my way into it. I grew up in Kollam, Kerala, watching my grandfather run a textile business. I didn’t study his ledgers. I didn’t analyse his margins. I just watched him — the way he spoke to...
The Brand That Didn’t Scream… But Built Authority In an industry addicted to noise, discounts, and “Buy 2 Get 3 Free” chaos, 11.11 / eleven eleven chose silence. No aggressive ads. No mass production. No compromise. Founded in 2008 by Shani Himanshu and Mia Morikawa, the brand built itself on...
SHEIN just published a report. 15,000 customers. 21 countries. Branded as a circularity study. The headline finding: their customers are actually quite responsible. They wear clothes 50 times before discarding. They care about price. The problem, SHEIN concludes, is lack of recycling infrastructure. Convenient. Very convenient. Because what the report...
In most cultures, people believe that as someone grows older, they become calmer, wiser, and more focused on family. Grandparents are usually seen as people who guide the younger generation and spend their time caring for children and building peace within the family. But in some families, the story is...
