India’s handloom sector pins revival hopes on young, social media-savvy buyers

India’s handloom sector, employing around 18,000 workers in Kerala alone, is turning to younger consumers for survival as structural challenges deepen. The state’s workforce has declined from nearly 25,000–30,000 in the past, while cooperative societies have dropped from 600 to 450. Kannur, once Kerala’s handloom hub, now has only 36 active cooperatives.

Delays in government payments have left 3,000 workers in Kannur unpaid for over eight months, with ₹8.5 crore in wages pending for school uniform production. Arrears for production incentives, introduced in 2017, remain unpaid since 2019, totaling nearly ₹20 crore in the district. The dearness allowance for piece-rate workers has risen from ₹53 in 2019 to ₹150 today, but financial strain persists.

The Union government’s National Handloom Development Programme provides financial aid, raw materials, and design support to weavers. Meanwhile, social media and indie labels are repositioning handloom as fashionable and sustainable, attracting younger buyers. Industry representatives warn that without urgent reforms, the sector risks becoming a relic rather than a livelihood source.