Around 1.25 lakh weavers get their employment from more than 750 cooperative societies as well as 50000 handlooms falling under the private sector. Department of Handlooms and Textiles get assisted by the Kerala State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society (HANTEX), which is a top cooperatives organization along with Kerala State Handloom Development Corporation Ltd (HANVEEV) which offers services to weavers individually.

A severe crisis is faced by handloom industry which leads to

1. The cheap handloom facing competition from other states as well

2. Reduction in the yarn of good quality

3. Increment in the yarn price, along with increasing price of chemicals, dyes and raw materials

4. Kerala handloom market gets shrinked

5. Lack of innovative designs and production of non-demand based products

6. Cooperative sector having inefficient system.

To accelerate the growth of handloom industry, the Government of India came up with a new scheme called as Deen Dayal Hathkargha Prothsahan Yojana (DDHPY). Although, the Indian Government offers assistance for the Kerala handloom industry but this does not suffice the purpose and inadequacy in the quality and wages of people of Kerala can be done away with availing more supplements through the schemes of State.

Kerala Handloom Fabrics

Kerala follows its own tradition of textiles and hence it is referred to as 'God's own country'. The culture and traditions of Kerala are exhibited in the Sarees of this state which cannot be witnessed anywhere else in the country. The ladies wearing Kerala Sarees have a feel of elegance from within because of their unique off white color along with golden border and the natural texture. It won’t be exaggerating to say that almost every Malayali lady consists of at least one sari manufactured in Kerala. As per the tradition of Kerala, women here are found to be wearing a dress known as 'settu mundu', which is also referred to as 'mundum neriyathum' having natural color of body and different beautiful shades of border. After wearing this two piece cloth, one gets a get up of a saree. The significant part about the Kerala saree is that they are woven by hands and cotton used is 100% unbleached.

The traditional pallus of the sarees add grace to them and usually the saree of Kerala consists of 1-7 inch pallu whereas the rest of the body is found plain. There are beautifully decorated designs of prints such as flowers and peacocks found on the one meter pallu and can be availed in stripes, checks along with a number of designs found in cotton or mixed with silk.

The outfit of men found in Kerala is dhotis or Kasavu mundu during the festivals or special occasions. Men while going for worship especially to the temples are found wearing dhotis which come usually in light colors of cotton with golden edges. The sizes of Dhotis vary as large, regular or extralarge as per the requirement of people. The kora cloth or the unbleached cotton or even found with handloom crepe fabric, this kora cloth is gaining popularity and have been seen in foreign market as well.

The district of Ernakulum located in north Paravur gave origin to Chennamangalam handlooms which are well known for the fineness in weaving along with beautiful effects making it more graceful. The other major productions done in Chennamangalam are settu mundu, cotton and silk sarees, earezha thorthu, dhoties with fine weaving edges and kavani etc. Kerala has been known all throughout because of the masterpieces created here called as Kasaragod sarees which comprises of high quality yarn and produced by traditional methods and are basically handmade.

HANTEX- Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society

Hantex can be referred to as the mere protective umbrella meant to give protection to the weavers working under Kerala’s Co-Operative Sector. It was in the year 1961 that a meteoric rise could be seen in the State handloom Weavers Co Operative Society Ltd of Kerala.

There are 440 production centers of Hantex located in different parts of the state where a large number of weavers work day and night to prove their innovations and creativity and meet the global standards. The annual turnover tentatively is found to be Rs. 300 millions with Hantex having a wide network of 150 showrooms situated in all the significant parts of state.

To meet the standards of domestic as well as international markets, and avail more creative and intricate breathtaking designs, Hantex consists of a great computerized Design Department which enables the weavers to evolve and put in more sophistication as far as designs of printing or weaving are concerned. To pour out great results in this regard, 150 importing machines are being used to cater to the needs of export and handcrafted fabrics, furnishing, garments, made-ups, traditional wears, sarees etc. are being produced through modern infrastructure taking into consideration the global eco friendly norms.

Products produced:

• Shirts

• Sarees

• Dhothis

• Set mund

• Bed linen

• Dress materials

• Table linen

• Wall hangings

Hanveev - Handloom Development Corporation Ltd.

Handloom Development Corpoartion Ltd. originated from Kannur which is a place famous across the world for traditional designs as well as skilled craftsmanship. It came into being in1968 and grew and developed with the passage of time. With the efforts and hard work put in by the weavers along with the support of State and Central governments, HANVEEV stands at a position having a good reputation in the international market known for its genuine manufacturing. An initiative was taken by Kerala State Handloom Development Corporation Ltd (KSHDC) for preserving this old craft, helping the dependents to do away with the menace of power looms/ machineries/fully automatic looms.

Products produced:

Home Furnishing:

There is a wide range of bed spreads, pillow covers, bed sheets, cushion covers, curtains and duvet covers available in pure cotton as well as a royal touch of satin, all being produced under HANVEEV. There is an array of color, design and quality that goes with the mood and need of every room. With its beautiful designs it gives a meaning to the décor of the house. There is a variety of draperies, made-ups, table cloths etc offered by Hanveev. To attain great colors, the fabrics are formed of 100 % cotton yarn dyed in VAT Dyes. The curtains, table cloths, table mats as well as floor mats may be found in beautiful colors with highly skilled weaving along with technique of interlacing in decorating interiors of offices as well as houses.

Kitchen Wear:

There is a wide range of woven cotton fabrics meant for kitchen as well taken care of by HANVEEV. One can avail beautifully designed products such as Pot Holders, Aprons, Gloves, Napkins, towels, table cloth etc found in refreshing colors catching the fancy of ladies.

Traditional Wear:

Cotton being regarded as the queen of fabrics due to its body comfort is being used by Hanveev for producing an amazing range of cotton shirting, hand-woven, Sarees etc that fulfills the requirements of the people. There are designer sarees, dhoties, Silk Saress, Set Mundu, Thorth, lungies etc also available. There is an exclusive collection and excellence in quality which can be seen in the collection and the quality of threads are assured also keeping in mind the love for eco-friendly environment.

Uniform Fabrics:

Hanveev does not lag behind even in the field of school uniforms offering a variety of shades for eco friendly uniform cloth catering to the needs of different School requirements around 100 schools in the state. The uniforms for Industrial workmen, hospital staffs, Police are also supplied by HANVEEV. Besides this, Hanveev manufactures Hospital Bed sheets, aprons, Gloves, operation theatre masks, caps etc for Doctors and Nurses etc. “Handloom Processing House” at Chirakkal, provides a large range of uniforms made up of 100% cotton or Polyester Cotton Blended fabrics.