India’s handloom sector, employing over 4.3 million rural artisans, faces challenges from mechanization, globalization, and limited market access. E-commerce platforms offer transformative potential by enabling direct-to-consumer sales, enhancing income levels, and promoting sustainability. This study investigates how e-commerce influences handloom weavers’ livelihoods, focusing on market access, economic outcomes, and barriers to digital adoption in rural areas. Using secondary data from government reports, industry analyses, and case studies of online cooperatives—Banarasi Weavers Cooperative and Tamil Nadu’s Co-optex—the research highlights improved market reach and income for digitally engaged weavers. However, infrastructural, educational, and socio-economic barriers limit adoption. Policy recommendations include subsidies for digital infrastructure, training programs, and partnerships with e-commerce platforms to ensure equitable benefits.
Hussain et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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