'Women buyers can bring back the glory days of Jamdani-Benarasi'

The local market for hand-woven Jamdani, Benarasi, silk, and muslin fabrics is shrinking, and as a result, the artisans who make them are gradually leaving the industry. These traditional fabrics are struggling to compete with imported fabrics, and this is causing a decline in this traditional industry.

Tasnuva Islam, founder director and CEO of The Muslin, in a recent interview with TBS said she believes that if women start buying local products instead of foreign saris, the industry can return to its glory days.

The entrepreneur said she has set up The Muslin to preserve the tradition of handloom and handicrafts in Bangladesh. The startup sells traditional products, such as Jamdani, Benarasi, silk, and muslin fabrics.

"We need to protect our industry. We need to promote and train the weavers who make the products," she said.

Emphasising that women have a huge role to play here, Tasnuva said, "If they can come out of the trend of buying foreign saris and start using these local garments, it will change the scene in this industry. This is because women have a huge influence on shopping."

Once 1,000-1,200 weavers had been working on handlooms, but the number has dwindled to the point where there are now fewer than 50 weavers, she said.

There is no alternative to providing training to those who are currently working and those who are enthusiastic about creating a new generation of weavers, she suggested.

The entrepreneur said people had fewer options in the 1990s, so these fabrics were more popular then. "At the time, the only options were silk, Benarasi, and printed cotton. Now, there are many more options, such as printed cotton, polyester, nylon, printed silk, etc."

Many people are not willing to buy these fabrics because of their prices, she said, adding that the cost of everything, from labour to materials, has increased.

The entrepreneur blamed middlemen for the situation. "They buy these traditional products at a nominal price and sell them in the market at much higher prices. However, the weavers neither enjoy the benefits of this nor get fair prices."

Besides proper channels, goods are being smuggled into the country from abroad through various means, including "luggage carrying," she said. "As these goods are being brought without paying taxes, these are sold at lower prices and everyone is taking advantage of this. This mentality needs to be changed."

Tasnuva Islam said, "We want a place and permission from the government so that we can produce the cotton used to make these handlooms ourselves. And we need to train the weavers in such a way that they can produce more efficient and high-quality products.

"We have some sectors in our country where the designer's name is associated with the product. But the designer only shares the idea, the weaver creates the product. Where is the recognition for them? They need to be recognised. They need to be promoted."

The Muslin is working to encourage weavers by acting as a brand itself, she said. "Weavers supply products to the platform in two ways. Some can charge the prices they want for their products, while others who want to sell their products at market prices pay a 20% commission." In other words, the weavers or artisans themselves set the prices, she said.

"We are doing this as a kind of CSR [corporate social responsibility] to save the weavers. We are giving weavers the opportunity to use our platform. This has two benefits. The weavers are getting good prices and the buyers are getting the product at lower prices than the market because there are no middlemen."

After completing her studies, Tasnuva Islam taught engineering at a private university. However, she had to leave her profession to pursue a higher degree abroad. She had a separate passion for photography and fashion designing.

The entrepreneur said she started the brand of handloom and handicrafts, the idea of which came to her during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tasnuva Islam said, "Our products are all so beautiful, but they are not properly promoted. Five-star hotels do not promote this. They set up small souvenir shops in less important places. However, [doing otherwise] we can brand ourselves very well to foreigners."

She said, "We want locals and foreigners to come and see how beautiful our products really are. We are doing this campaign, we are telling people how unique our products are. This has to be done not only by us but also by the private sector and the government together.

"Muslin has been declared a GI product. But if the product itself is lost, then we will not be able to take advantage of the GI."

Speaking about the mindset of buyers, she said, "There is a trend that once you wear something, you won't wear it again. There is this concept: why would I buy something for so much money.

"However, the real picture is different. Our products are actually cheaper than many branded products. There is also a tendency to use foreign products. However, our products are good, and unique in design and variety. Bangladeshi designers also need to highlight these things."

She said that to save the industry, the government needs to do more to raise awareness. "The products need to be branded."

The Muslin commenced its journey on 15 September 2021, with only domestic products. It sources products directly from the weavers and keeps them in its showroom. The Muslin's products have the lost touch of muslin and the touch of domestic tradition. Besides saris, shoes, jewellery, furniture, etc. are available there.