Myntra’s brand TAAVI stays committed to 10,000 artisans through pandemic with steady orders to support their livelihoods

Bengaluru: Taavi, a homegrown Indian art and handicrafts brand, launched by Myntra in 2018, has pledged multilayered support to about 10,000 artisans associated with the brand, to see them through the hurdles spawned by the pandemic.

Challenges imposed by the pandemic have impacted the scale of work, and consequently the livelihoods of the artisans. Taavi has undertaken steps to shield them from operational and transactional barriers of doing business, at a time when they are experiencing slump in orders from various corners of the fashion industry. 

Taavi is helping the artisan community by steadily processing fabric orders so that they can continue to safely work through the lockdown and prepare the bulk fabrics, giving them a financial cushion. It has also worked out a system to expedite the payments cycle to 10 days as opposed to the industry norm of 45 to 60 days while relaxing delivery timelines.

To support those artisans waiting for the lockdown to be lifted Myntra's Taavi has taken proactive steps and enabled processes to help fulfill their work from home, in the interim. In addition to processing the existing orders, the company has reassured the artisans of its commitment to the community by placing fresh orders for the upcoming quarters of 2021, ensuring their financial stability during this time. It has also launched a new Supply Chain Financing Program for a smooth workflow through continued payments.

Manohar Kamath, Chief of Myntra Fashion Brands, said, “With every weave of Taavi, we bring an aspect of livelihood to the idea of knitting together, age-old culture with modern sensibilities, enabling over 2.5X growth since its launch. The pandemic and its economic repercussions have been quite harsh on the community of weavers and artisans, causing distress to the already ailing sector. In a commitment towards the well-being of the artisan community, we decided to extend a helping hand for the artisan ecosystem to sail through the situation and have placed 3X of repeat orders with our partners.”  

Launched in 2019, Taavi’s role has been instrumental in promoting the traditional arts of India by giving a contemporary twist to appeal to the millions of Myntra’s customer base.  It provides continued employment to over 10,000 artisans and weavers across the country, who practice printed and woven crafts like Bagru, Ajrakh, Kalamkari, Indigo and Ikat. The contemporary renditions of ancient hand-embroidered crafts like Kasuti, Chikankari, Lambani and Applique have stood the brand in good stead. It currently offers shoppers styles in 4 categories, including, men, women, women’s footwear and unisex personal care. 
Taavi is proud of its collaborations with award-winning artisans, such as Tara Ashok Hulamani and women-driven NGOs like the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation. Taavi currently works with 5 NGO’s and is looking at adding 5000 more artisans this year