Amazon to directly engage with weavers, boost handloom sales

Indian handlooms will get a big boost in the retail space. Amazon India has entered into a partnership with the Development Commissioner Handloom of the Union Ministry of Textiles. Under this partnership it will educate, train and enable cooperatives and weavers to directly sell their products online on Amazon India.

Amazon India will now directly engage with weavers in Kota, Rajasthan, Nadia in West Bengal, Bargarh in Odisha and Bijoynagar in Assam. The products will carry government certification ‘India Handloom Brand’ and ‘Handloom Mark’. This will ensure that good quality products are available to shoppers across the globe through its website.

Already, Amazon has deployed teams in the four states and conducted workshops in Kota and Bargarh where they introduced weavers to online selling. In fact, Amazon’s seller services will help them kickstart their online business. Alok Kumar, development commissioner (handlooms) is happy about this partnership because it will allow weavers to satiate their demand by making their products available in all corners of India. More importantly, the weavers will get the right value for their offerings through this direct sales channel.

The products made by weavers will be available on ‘Crafted in India’ store on Amazon that was launched recently. The aim of this section is to bring the rich Indian heritage of handicrafts and handlooms to the Indian consumers’ doorsteps.