COVER STORY
17
Hit by the Pandamic, standing for #VocalforLocal
NABARUPA BOSE INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN
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bstract
The Apparel and Fashion Industry has faced a severe recession due to Covid-19. Textile Industry being the second-largest employer, India is at a great loss economically. It is the need of the hour for India to be self reliant. The government also saw this as an opportunity to remove the domestic hurdles i.e. Chinese imports, before moving to a self-sustaining ecosystem and attracting a share of the global value chain. Hence, Vocal for Local was called upon. Introduction The Indian apparel Industry has incurred around Rs. 1 lakh crore of loss including 50 lakh jobs, as announced by Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI). All textile and apparel related businesses, including small ventures and Indian labels had to go through a lot of hardships to keep the cash flowing and keep the brand afloat in the market. One of the worst groups hit by the
Nafeesah Ahmed INTERN AT TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN pandemic are the handloom sectors across various states in India. Starting with the retail stores getting shut down, the sector stopped getting orders. This led to the artisans getting no work at all, thereby stopping cash inflow. Furthermore, retail events like exhibitions and fairs are not going to take place till next few months. The interests of customers have also been altered with lower incomes resulting in sudden disruption of artisan’s livelihood. It is now more crucial than ever to support local designers, labels, ventures including the handloom industry, who desperately need assistance to get lives back on track after months of no business and too many workers to stay afloat. The solution for surviving during this period is growing locally and helping others flourish at the various stages of the consumer-retail chain. The only body capable of making sure the concerns of the craftspeople are heard is ourselves, the user. You are boosting the economy by wearing something crafted in India, and making sure that native creativity flourishes. It is an approach for which one of India’s most re-
nowned fashion designers, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, has been speaking for a while now. The voice “vocal for local” can be seen as a bilateral approach which would be a boon for the nation and for the individual as well. The Make In India experience Malini Ramani just recently confirmed that she was shutting her company after 20 years of being India’s most celebrated resort designers. She designed glamorous evening wear, and felt this is not the time to be selling fancy clothes, when migrant laborers and poor people are dying of hunger and insufficiency. She realized in the lockdown that she is paying high rents with no clear profits in sight. She might open a sustainable line in the future, but is currently looking for a different way of life. Let’s not neglect the fact that most Indian brands do not have corporate backing. Make in India is definitely not cheap as other exported apparel but this lockdown has made us understand that we have a myriad of textiles and clothing. Therefore, buying smart with fabrics that are made to last would be a better ap| SEPTEMBER 2020
