Reinventing the face of the Handloom Industry for future sustainability

Selyn launches the ne ‘New30’

Q: What are the current challenges faced by the handloom industry?

Sri Lankan handloom has a long and venerable history of over 2500 years and has been a sustainable industry since its inception: energy consumption in production is low, and the industry has created thousands of jobs for rural artisans and communities across the country. However, despite various efforts, the industry finds itself in a state of deterioration owing to different factors, more recently the negative impact of degrowth of the tourism sector in Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, handloom is no longer widely seen as an item of intrinsic value that speaks of our history and culture, and embodies the skills of talented artisans. Our artisans are no longer venerated for their skills, and are too often seen through a charity lens. It is crucial that Sri Lankan handlooms are pitched to premium or even luxury markets, which value quality over mass quantity and speed.

In addition and perhaps more innovatively, increasing the transparency of our production methods with the integration of blockchain technology into our supply chains will be a crucial step to allow us to better tell the Sri Lankan handloom story, addressing the ‘green-washing’ debate, and providing consumers with verifiable data to inform the purchase of a higher value textile. Global emerging trends support this hypothesis, as these premium markets and more conscious customers are now craving the stories of heritage and responsibility that fair trade and ethical brands can tell. This is an opportunity, for not just the handloom industry but in my opinion, for many Sri Lankan brands.

Q: How is Selyn integrating Blockchain into their production system?

We envision a different future for the handloom sector. Having begun the process of integrating blockchain into our supply chain, we believe we can truly walk the talk and present to the world a truly authentic and responsible craft brand. Drawing on our fair-trade foundations and using our social enterprise credentials and with COVID19 accelerating our work, Selyn is repositioning its work in the handloom sector to address emerging market opportunities.
Q: What do you hope to achieve through this novel technology?

Our aim is to leverage a commitment to ethical and sustainable practices combined with greater transparency, and ultimately carve out a unique niche for handloom as an important part of Sri Lanka’s intangible cultural heritage. And, we are working hard to bring the industry along with us. We believe that the concept of blockchain in the handloom sector is an innovative step towards positioning Sri Lanka as an industry and global leader that combines technology and tradition to conquer sustainability.

Q: How can blockchain benefit Sri Lanka?

For those companies in control of their supply chains, especially those committed to fair trade and ethical

trading practices, blockchain is the perfect tool to validate authenticity and for story-telling. With blockchain integrated from the point of sourcing to point of purchase – from fiber to fashion – with the swipe of a QR code, a consumer can now be fully aware of what goes into their product, and how it is made. Blockchain technology ensures that each point in the production process is recorded so that consumers can access independently verified, real-time, detailed metadata of what they want to know. And that’s not all. Consumers can input their own information to the QR code, thereafter if it is given to a friend or resold; it enables the needed circularity for the product.

For us in the handloom industry and even for the larger apparel sector, this means openly sharing information about how, where, and by whom a product was made. This becomes more than a story-telling exercise, especially since this technology demands that we pay attention to people at all stages of the supply chain: who works for the brand, in what factories, under what conditions, are they safe, are they paid a living wage, how many hours do they work, do they have workers’ rights? It also demands that we be conscious of the waste we reject into the environment – into our forests and our seas and brings our attention to how we may be more carbon neutral as we maximise profit. It allows us to humanize our supply chains and spread the premiums gained fairly among all those involved in the process of taking a product to market.

Q: Why is Blockchain essential to the future?

We see the overuse of these words; “sustainable”, “empowerment” “circular” and are led to

believe it addresses and solves the bigger problems at hand. None of which mean anything or truly give impact, if we aren’t transparent about how we achieve these outcomes. In other words, the practice of openly sharing information about how, where, and by whom products are made is critical. We can’t achieve sustainability without being truly transparent, which is why blockchain has gained its well-earned prominence. About Selyna Peiris (Attorney-at- Law): Being the Director-Business Development at Selyn, Selyna is also Co-Founder and Partner at Positive Impact Consultancy, an advisory service assisting stakeholders in various sectors to make purpose led transformation to create a positive impact. She was previously the Deputy Director – Programmes at

the Office for National Unity & Reconciliation (ONUR), Government of Sri Lanka and has consulted for the UN and other international and non-governmental organizations. As a youth activist, she has spear-headed and

worked along many movements working towards a racism free Sri Lanka and continues to be a strong

advocate for equitable development especially for the women of SriLanka.