Authors : Najmul Kadir Kaikobad; Kanwaljit Kaur

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 10 - October

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/48km53hw

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/npwhdrht

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25oct273

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Note : Google Scholar may take 30 to 40 days to display the article.

Abstract : The Bangladeshi handloom industry embodies a distinctive confluence of cultural heritage, artisanal mastery, and socio-economic sustainability. Considering the fashion sector’s increasing orientation toward sustainability and ethical consumption, hand-woven textiles have re-emerged as environmentally responsible and culturally significant alternatives to industrial fast fashion. This study critically interrogates the potential of Bangladesh’s handloom heritage in addressing sustainability challenges across the global fashion value chain, employing qualitative content analysis of scholarly literature, media reports, and policy frameworks. The analysis demonstrates how handloom practices reflect the principles of slow fashion, circular economy, and community-based production, while simultaneously confronting structural barriers such as scalability, labor conditions, design innovation, and policy insufficiency. By situating Bangladesh’s handloom legacy within the broader sustainability discourse, the study contends that traditional crafts should not be understood merely as cultural artifacts, but rather as active agents of innovation and transformation in shaping the trajectory of sustainable global fashion.

Keywords : Bangladesh Handloom; Sustainable Fashion; Cultural Heritage; Slow Fashion; Innovation; Circular Economy; Ethical Consumption; Textile Traditions; Artisanal Craftsmanship; Global Fashion Industry.

References :

1. UNESCO. (2013). Jamdani weaving in Bangladesh. Paris: UNESCO.
2. Fletcher, K. (2014). Sustainable fashion and textiles: Design journeys (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
3. Clark, H. (2015). Slow + fashion an oxymoron or a promise for the future? Fashion Theory, 12(4), 427–446.
4. Hossain, M. (2016). Socio-economic conditions of handloom weavers in Bangladesh: Problems and prospects. Bangladesh Journal of Development Studies, 43(1), 59–74.
5. Gupta, N. (2017). Khadi and sustainable fashion: A study of India’s handspun textile movement. Textile History, 48(2), 182–200.
6. Basu, R. (2018). Handloom under threat: Structural barriers in South Asian textile traditions. Asian Textile Review, 22(2), 87–101.
7. Chowdhury, T. (2018). Cultural sustainability and handloom weaving in rural Bangladesh. Journal of Heritage Studies, 24(3), 415–430.
8. Ahmed, F. (2019). Muslin: The legendary fabric. Dhaka: Bangla Academy.
9. Clark, H. (2020). Crafting futures: Innovation in sustainable fashion design. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 13(2), 115–127.
10. Gwilt, A. (2020). Fashion design for living: Strategies for sustainability. London: Bloomsbury.
11. Ngugi, J. (2020). Cultural identity and sustainable textiles: A case study of African kente cloth. Journal of Cultural Economics, 44(1), 91–108.
12. Rahman, M. (2020). The decline of traditional handloom in Bangladesh: Causes and consequences. Asian Journal of Social Science, 48(2), 134–152.
13. Uddin, M. (2020). Challenges facing traditional crafts in Bangladesh: An institutional analysis. International Journal of South Asian Studies, 13(1), 101–118.
14. Islam, N., & Nasreen, R. (2021). Market constraints and opportunities for Bangladeshi handloom. Journal of Development Policy Studies, 8(1), 141–160.
15. Khan, S. (2021). Handloom weaving and sustainable development in Bangladesh. Journal of Sustainable Textiles, 6(1), 55–72.
16. Roy, A. (2021). Heritage as commodity: Ethical dilemmas in the global marketing of crafts. Journal of Business Ethics, 173(4), 735–749.
17. Torres, M. (2021). Indigenous weaving and the global fashion industry: Lessons from the Andes. Latin American Textile Review, 10(3), 201–219.