I was reminded however, that there is a strong case for buying locally when I was sitting in clothing store in an ancient city along the Ganges River being shown multiple styles of various women’s and men’s shirts. In the city of Varanasi, India, where I had been, it is common to enter a store and sit on a white padded cloth while the store owner shows you a selection of his products.
I decided on a style I liked, however, the color I wanted was not available in an already-made shirt. I therefore went to the shop’s warehouse so that I could choose a fabric.
It turned out that the warehouse was next to the production floor, which began with a pattern fitting and cutting area, and then a larger room with sewing machines. All of the “seamstresses” as we tend to think of it in the USA, were actually men, and I was informed that it was common in Varanasi that men were the labor force behind clothing manufacturing.
Varanasi is a city of colorful and chaotic streets wherein two-hundred million (200M) people live (yes, that many!). According to the shop owner, Varanasi has 1.2 million sewing machines used for fabricating garments, bedding and other articles.
Fabric is a product heavily made in India that is more often than not dyed with chemicals rather than organic dyes because it is less expensive. With dumping from China of cheap fabrics into the Indian market, staying competitive is becoming increasingly more of a challenge.
Not only was I able to choose the fabrics I wanted, all of which were sourced from Indian manufacturers, I also had an opportunity to purchase a beautifully printed piece of “paper silk” that had once been used as a sari but had been disassembled for re-use. With this fabric, I had three (3) scarves made and received them along with my new shirt the next morning.
Customized personal service, choice of fabric, eco-consciousness, and next day delivery – a very good business model indeed!
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