Decolonizing the Narrative: India Through Its Own Eyes
For centuries, India has been a land of fascination, opportunity, and exploitation for the West. Whether through colonial rule, economic extraction, or cultural appropriation, Westerners have repeatedly entered India with a sense of entitlement—taking what they can while giving little to nothing back. This pattern is particularly evident in the fashion and textile industry, where India’s artisans and laborers produce luxury goods and fast fashion garments for Western consumption, yet remain financially excluded from the wealth their work generates.
Today, as sustainable fashion and ethical trade become buzzwords in Western markets, a new wave of foreign entrepreneurs and brands enter India, claiming to “help” while repeating the same cycle of profit without reciprocity. The question remains: Is the West truly supporting India’s artisans, or is it simply rebranding exploitation under the guise of ethical consumerism?
A Legacy of Western Extraction in India
The history of Western involvement in India’s textile industry is one of deliberate economic sabotage and profit-driven control. During British colonial rule (1858–1947), India was systematically deindustrialized to serve British economic interests. The British East India Company destroyed India’s once-thriving textile industry by flooding the market with cheap, machine-made British fabrics, forcing local weavers into poverty (Gupta, 2018). Raw cotton was exported to Britain, manufactured into textiles, and then resold in India at inflated prices, ensuring that wealth remained in British hands (Roy, 2021).
The result? An industry that had been the backbone of Indian trade for centuries was dismantled to make way for British dominance. The economic devastation was so severe that by the time India gained independence, its once world-renowned textile industry had been reduced to a shadow of its former self.
Today, the fashion industry continues this colonial legacy under new disguises—fast fashion, mass production, and luxury branding.
The Modern Exploitation of Indian Fashion
India remains one of the largest textile producers in the world, supplying 15% of the global textile market (Textile Value Chain, 2022). Western fast fashion brands outsource production to Indian factories where wages for garment workers range from $150 to $250 per month—barely enough for basic survival (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2022). Meanwhile, the final products are sold in the West at exponential markups, with profits concentrated in corporate headquarters in Europe and North America.
A dress manufactured in India for $1 is sold for $50–$100 in Western retail stores (Ross, 2019).
Less than 2% of the retail price goes to the worker who made it (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2022).
When these garments are discarded, they are shipped back to India as textile waste, further polluting local environments (Niinimäki et al., 2020).
Pushkar, a hub for Indian textile trade, exemplifies this issue. Tourists and Western entrepreneurs flood the markets, buying bulk clothing at low costs, branding it as “authentic” or “ethical,” and reselling it overseas for massive profits—all while the artisans and small manufacturers who created these pieces see no long-term financial benefits.
Western Ego in the “Ethical” Fashion Movement
Westerners entering the Indian fashion market often carry an unspoken assumption of superiority—believing they are here to “help,” “modernize,” or “elevate” local artisans. This attitude mirrors colonial-era narratives where the British justified their rule as a civilizing mission while extracting India’s wealth for their own benefit.
Today, Western brands market Indian textiles as part of an “ethical” movement, yet their business models remain rooted in profit extraction rather than community empowerment. Instead of investing in the artisans they claim to represent, they continue to operate within the same economic structures that keep Indian workers underpaid and invisible.
The reality is that India does not need saviors—it needs fair trade, equitable partnerships, and business models that reinvest in the communities producing these goods.
A New Model: Keeping Wealth in the Community
At Mother Sapera, we reject this cycle of Western exploitation, appropriation, and empty ethical branding. Our approach is clear:
We reinvest earnings into Kalbeliya-led craftsmanship, including carpet weaving, recycled textiles, handcrafted bags, beaded jewelry, and metalwork.
We do not underprice Indian labor or exploit “artisan” branding for Western marketing gimmicks. Instead, we ensure that the true creators of these products receive the financial rewards they deserve.
Western businesses must move beyond token gestures of ethical fashion and commit to real economic change. This means paying fair wages, acknowledging historical exploitation, and building long-term partnerships that empower local communities rather than extracting from them.
If the fashion industry truly wants to be ethical, it must ask itself: Are we uplifting the artisans of India, or are we simply finding new ways to profit from them?
References
Clean Clothes Campaign. (2022). Wages in the garment industry: The truth behind the price tag. Retrieved from https://cleanclothes.org
Gupta, B. (2018). Colonialism and deindustrialization in India, 1750–1947. Economic History Review, 71(3), 845–869.
Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T., & Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(4), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9
Ross, A. (2019). The Hidden Cost of Cheap Fashion. The Guardian.
Roy, T. (2021). A Business History of India: Enterprise and the Emergence of Capitalism from 1700. Cambridge University Press.
Textile Value Chain. (2022). India’s Position in the Global Textile Market. Retrieved from https://textilevaluechain.in
