Paper short abstract:

We are interested in Khadi’s perceived morality and its social appeal to consolidate national identity. Through a digital ethnographic study, we reflect on how the' moral' fabric of Khadi has been branded as a mass fashion avenue for the Indian millennials who cherish its moral/national appeal.

Paper long abstract:

Khadi, a handwoven natural cotton fabric that morally and politically served as a symbol for India’s freedom struggle, has now grown into a multi-product socio-economic Indian brand in the 21st century India that supposedly expresses ‘Indianness’. Popularized by Gandhi in the colonial times, promotion of hand-spun Khadi in the independent India became a national imperative to make Indians aware of their moral obligation to wear Khadi as national identity. It was chiefly accomplished through the formation of a statutory body named Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in 1956 and since then, the fabric has been absorbed into the fold of mass fashion.

Presently, Khadi is promoted and sustained by both the state and the private entrepreneurs and it nationally and internationally corroborates to India’s self-image and ushers into sartorial nationalism. Khadi’s mass production and commodification in the 21st century India promoted it under the rubric of 'slow fashion’ for its ethical, sustainable, and weaver-centric approach. Anthropologically situated between the turmoil of putative morality and its present bend towards mass fashion, Khadi apparels are branded as alternative choices against the ‘fast fashion’ and modernity’s tiring endeavors at once. 

Through a digital ethnographic study of six popular Indian clothing websites (including ‘Khadi India’ by KVIC) we will assess the nationalist politics that Khadi apparels sewed into India's socio-cultural space. We will be assessing the impact of Khadi’s cultural politics through the advertisements, branding and marketing techniques from these websites that conjoin morality with fashion.