We invest heavily in design
Ecotasar is a Fair-Trade enterprise committed to creating sustainable wage opportunities for artisans and small textile producers in rural India. Established in 2007, the brand specialises in hand-woven and hand-crafted fashion and home furnishing products made from natural fibres like wild silk, cotton, and linen. With production centres in Bihar and Jharkhand, Ecotasar champions zero-carbon practices, natural dyes, and non-fossil fuel processes, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern sustainability. In conversation with Fibre2Fashion, Founder Khitish Pandya shares the story behind Ecotasar’s inception, its deep-rooted collaboration with tribal communities, the value of natural fibres like tussar silk, and how the enterprise continues to scale ethical and eco-friendly practices while meeting global market demands.
What inspired the founding of Ecotasar, and how did the focus on wild silk and natural fibres come about?
Ecotasar was incubated by PRADAN, an NGO which works among poor communities across 7 states in India. It had a project wherein it was organising the tribal sericulturists who rear tussar silk cocoons. As part of the project, PRADAN wanted to encourage social enterprises to create market for the produce of the tribals. I was inspired to fill this role. Since the project was about tussar, initially whatever Ecotasar made was made with tussar silk, but gradually it has expanded to other natural fibres like eri silk, organic cotton, linen and wool.
Your tagline says, “Made by hand, made with heart.” How do you ensure this ethos is reflected at every stage of production?
The mission of Ecotasar is to create income opportunity for poor women producers and artisans in its supply chain so that they do not have to migrate out of their villages in search of work. To this end, it has adopted hand processes as most of the people it wishes to help cannot invest in machinery etc. Hence, most of our products are handmade, and as we are trying to make an inclusive society, our emotion/heart is invested in it.
Tussar silk is central to your brand. What makes it more sustainable compared to conventional silk or other fabrics?
Tussar silkworm is reared on live trees in the forest. For other silks, worms are fed indoors with plucked leaves. So, the production process is more nature-based then other conventional silks.
Can you talk about your collaboration with tribal communities and the kind of social impact Ecotasar has created on the ground?
We buy the cocoons produced by tribal sericulturists on a regular basis at a remunerative price. This year-on-year fair procurement has helped many to have a predictable income resulting in their economic betterment.
We also have trained many women in these villages to make yarn using training and equipment supplied by us. This activity helps them make anywhere between ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 a month working purely part time. This helps many families to avoid migrating to nearby towns in search of work during non-agricultural season. Nowadays, only men migrate, and women and children stay back as the money made by the woman is enough to manage household expenses. This has resulted in ensuring continuity in education of the children which was earlier getting disrupted due to seasonal migration.
What systems are in place to ensure fair wages and consistent livelihoods for the artisans you work with?
We have conducted a Time and Motion study of the yarn production process and, based on its findings—along with local government wage guidelines—we have fixed fair conversion fees for our producers.
Raw materials are delivered directly to the artisans in their villages, and finished goods are collected from the same locations. Conversion charges are calculated on-site and paid via bank transfer within 10 days. This regular and timely payment system enables artisans to better plan their finances and reduces their dependency on local moneylenders who often charge exorbitant interest rates.
We have also observed a strong sense of community support—when a member is in need, others often pool their earnings to help. This solidarity has been made possible through the consistent and reliable income generated by their work with us.
How do you address challenges around scalability while still adhering to traditional, eco-friendly production methods?
When dealing with natural raw material and hand processes, it is but natural that the cost shall not be comparable to conventional man-made textiles. This puts a limitation on the scale to which one can grow with this model. But then this is a social enterprise with a mandate to bring social change using business as a means, and so even if we do not grow as much as a conventional business, as long as we are commercially sustainable and making a social impact, we are happy.
What is the process like when launching a new collection—from sourcing to the final product?
Designs are developed by our inhouse design team keeping the season and trends in mind. Then the designs are shown to a few of our regular customers for their feedback. Our sales team also shares its feedback about these designs. After incorporating the changes as suggested by the customers and sales team, designs are sent to our production office in Bhagalpur who get the fabric woven either inhouse on our jacquard handlooms or from our handloom weaver vendors. We have our own dyeing and finishing facilities.
Once the finished product is received at our Delhi office, photoshoot is done to prepare a catalogue. Samples are then given to sales team to show and book orders from our B2B customers.
How do you strike a balance between preserving traditional textile aesthetics and catering to modern design sensibilities?
We invest heavily in design. We also have finetuned our traditional production processes to be able to produce as per the requirement of the contemporary market. We do a lot of training and capacity building of our artisan vendors.
As a company with deep roots in Eastern India, how are you expanding Ecotasar’s reach to global markets, and what challenges come with that?
We work in remote areas and with equipment and processes which are very obsolete. This puts a lot of disadvantage, but we have over the years fine-tuned our systems to ensure that we are able to meet the rigorous quality and lead time requirements of international brands. We have been exporting since 2007 and have many customers buying regularly from us since then. Exports account for 70 per cent of our business, which is a testimony that we are able to hold our own against the best in the world.
How can traditional handloom and natural fibre sectors compete with the scale and pricing of synthetic and fast fashion industries?
Traditional handloom and natural fibre sectors cannot compete and should not compete with synthetic textiles and fast fashion. Jewellery can be of gold as well as of cheaper metals. However, gold has its own place. We have to make sure that our traditional textiles are seen by consumer as they see gold—Exclusive, With a heart, With a story that resonates with consumer. No amount of improvement in our processes can make us cost competitive with synthetics, so why try and compete on that parameter. Synthetics and fast fashion cannot give exclusivity. We can. So, let us leverage that.
What role do you believe government policy and institutional support play in promoting indigenous textiles and artisan livelihoods in India?
The government can play a crucial role in promoting indigenous textiles and supporting artisan livelihoods by focusing on the following areas:
- Facilitating market development for stakeholders in the sector—such as traders, manufacturers, and co-operatives—to strengthen demand and visibility for traditional textiles.
- Investing in e-commerce training for local communities to help artisans access wider markets and improve digital literacy.
- Encouraging designers to incorporate traditional textiles and techniques into their collections by offering incentives and subsidies. Once designers engage with these clusters, they are more likely to continue working with them.
- Supporting the upgradation of basic tools and the introduction of new technologies to improve productivity and quality while preserving traditional craftsmanship.
With sustainability becoming a global buzzword, how can consumers be educated to distinguish genuinely eco-friendly textiles from greenwashing?
It can be done through certification by a reliable body.
What innovations—either technological or process-driven—are you most excited about in the natural or wild silk segment?
The availability of standardised natural dyestuffs is a promising development that will significantly boost the growth of sustainable textiles, including wild silks. Additionally, the manufacture of textured hand-spun yarn using mixed silk fibres is an exciting innovation. It not only adds unique character to the fabric but also enhances the value and versatility of natural silk products.
Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for Ecotasar? Are there plans to diversify into other natural fibres or product lines?
In the immediate future, we wish to grow our scale such that we are able to provide work to at least 2,000 women yarn makers by 2027-28. Currently, we are buying output of approximately 1,160 women yarn makers.
We are also doing R&D to develop new variants of hand spun yarn using different kinds of natural fibres like tussar and eri silks in combination with cotton, linen, wool, bamboo etc.
In the next 10 years, we aim to get into garmenting to create industrial scale full time employment for women in the villages using a distributed manufacturing model.
What do you see as the biggest opportunity for growth in the sustainable and natural fibre textile sector over the next decade?
There is a very intense and growing interest among consumers for sustainable and natural fibre textiles and we are in the right place with proven track record to engage with it. More and more brands are looking for vendors like us who can deliver quality goods in time without compromising on sustainability and fair trade practices.
