The Fabric of Our Lives: The Story of Fabindia

‘It seems contradictory that we pursue both profit and a social goal, but I believe that is the only way to do it.’—William Bissell

 

The year 2010 marks Fabindia’s fiftieth anniversary. In 1960 a young American, John Bissell, set up a firm exporting handloom products armed only with his unswerving belief in India’s weaves and prints and his readiness to work with weavers and craftsmen in their own settings. Today Fabindia’s garments, furnishings and fabrics have transformed urban tastes and fashions and it has set standards for retailing hand-crafted quality products that are being emulated by other brands in the market.

 

The creation of community-owned companies to secure the supply chain for the vast quantities of products required by Fabindia is cited in management schools as a dynamic new model of social entrepreneurship. The company has given thousands of rural weavers their livelihoods. Its bottom line has continued to grow as have share values in the artisan companies, creating wealth for both buyer and producer and generating a pace of growth that has no precedence in the retail industry in India.

 

Over the last fifty years Fabindia has grown into India’s most famous ethnic brand with over a hundred outlets all over the country. This is the story of that remarkable journey.