The looming legacy: downfall of hand-knotted carpets in India

Purpose This study aims to examine the structural, socio-economic and global market factors contributing to the decline of the hand-knotted carpet industry in India, with a special focus on the Bhadohi region. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative analysis is based on secondary data from official sources, including the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) and the Ministry of Commerce and Textiles, covering the period from 2015 to 2024. The qualitative analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with 40 industry stakeholders, conducted using a snowball sampling technique across major carpet-producing centers, primarily Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Jaipur and Kashmir. The data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, supported by triangulation. Findings The findings reveal that overall carpet exports from India remain volatile. However, the hand-knotted carpet exports have remained stagnant and even declined when compared to their counterparts. This can be attributed to precarious labor conditions, wage disparities, attrition of skilled artisans, rising global competition from machine-made carpets and recent trade policy shocks, collectively threatening the industry’s viability. The study also highlights significant policy gaps, inadequate labor protections and structural weaknesses that impede sectoral resilience. Research limitations/implications The study offers several insights for policymakers, the government and the carpet industry. The decline of the hand-knotted carpet industry threatens rural livelihoods, underscoring an urgent need for targeted policy interventions for the long-term survival of the industry. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as it suffers from a small qualitative sample, a low response rate and regional concentration of fieldwork; thereby, cautioning against generalization of the findings. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study integrating quantitative analysis with field-based qualitative insights from the carpet industry in India. It examines labor conditions, policy limitations and global trade dynamics shaping the contemporary decline of hand-knotted carpets in India.