In December last year, IOS had reported that the Indian government is in talks with Amazon India for a possible partnership to promote artisans and the handicraft industry. The only roadblock was the commission rate. With Amazonannouncing its collaboration with Development Commissioner Handloom of the Union Ministry of Textiles, it seems the negotiations worked out.
Under this partnership, the marketplace will teach cooperatives and weavers the nitty-gritty of online selling and increase their business.
Speaking about this partnership with the online marketplace, Alok Kumar, Development Commissioner (Handlooms) shared,
“Authentic handloom products have always found resonance with shoppers. Our partnership with Amazon India will allow weavers to satiate this demand by making their products available in all corners of India. Weavers will also get the right value for their offerings through this direct sales channel.”
Empowering weavers, artisans and sellers
As of now, Amazon India has access to weavers of:
- Bijoynagar in Assam
- Kota in Rajasthan
- Nadia in West Bengal
- Bargarh in Odisha
The ecommerce giant’s team has already started conducting workshops in the four states. All the products manufactured under this program will feature ‘India Handloom Brand’ and ‘Handloom Mark’ authenticity tags.
Amazon India will display these handloom products in their handicraft specialty store ‘Crafted in India’.
“Our partnership with the Development Commissioner of Handloom allows us to transform the lives of thousands of weavers & artisans and to further add to our efforts of contributing to ‘Make in India’ initiative. Sellers of all sizes on Amazon.in get access to the easiest and most comprehensive set of offerings that enable & empower them. We have already deployed trained resources on-ground and have started organizing workshops to handhold weavers in their new online journey. We are humbled to see weavers get online,” said Gopal Pillai, Director – Seller Services at Amazon India
Ecommerce enabling the handicrafts industry
Amazon is not the only one that has partnered with the government to promote Indian handicrafts & handlooms. In May 2015, the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED) tied-up with Snapdeal to promote tribal products. In July 2015, Flipkart launched an online store to promote Indian handicrafts after teaming up with the government in August 2014.
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