'Handloom Mark' to protect the interest of local weavers

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The traditional handloom weavers of Assam are struggling to survive the onslaught of power loom products. The market is glutted with power loom products and naive consumers cannot differentiate between handloom products and power loom products. The Assam Government has therefore started the process to introduce Handloom Mark in handloom products. The Handloom Mark will serve as a guarantee that the consumer is buying a genuinely hand-woven product and it will also popularize hand-woven products, thus giving a much-needed shot in the arm to the handloom sector.

The Handloom Mark label can be affixed by tag gun or stitched per metre of hand-woven fabric. Even after this if any consumer has any doubt as to whether a product with Handloom Mark is genuine or counterfeit, the consumer can draw the attention of the Textiles Committee – the implementing agency for the Handloom Mark scheme– with the bill and code number of the purchase of the product. Based on the results of the investigation, the Textiles Committee will take appropriate action under the Trademark Act, 1999.

The Assam Government has already started the process of bringing 2,000 traditional weavers under the Handloom Mark scheme. The weavers will have to register themselves and then they will be allowed start using the Handloom Mark on their products.

Talking to The Sentinel, Secretary to the Government of Assam, Handloom, Textile and Sericulture Department, Dilip Bora said, "The common consumers often get confused between handloom products and power loom products because it is quite difficult to distinguish between the two. The Handloom Mark will provide assurance to the consumers about the genuineness of the origin of the handloom product being purchased. The assurance of originality of handloom gives consumers a chance to differentiate between hand-woven and power loom woven products.

"Handloom is unparalleled in its flexibility and versatility, permitting experimentation and encouraging innovation. The intrinsic designs and patterns woven on handloom cannot be replicated by other means of production. When such products marked with Handloom Mark reach the consumers, it gives encouragement to artisans to weave more fancy and creative patterns.

"The Handloom Mark will help promote handloom products in the domestic as well as the international market, thereby improving the earnings of the handloom weaver community.

"Tradition of weaving by hand is a part of the country's cultural ethos. The Handloom Mark aims at revival of this legacy and exemplifies the richness and diverse cultural heritage of India."

The Textiles Committee will audit the handloom products in a continuous manner and examine the handloom samples purchased from the market, whether they are handloom or not. In case of misuse of the Handloom Mark by any registered user, the registration of the user will be cancelled.

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