When Gandhi was fighting for independence from Britain, one of his strategies for seeking independence was to free the Indian people from economic dependance on British goods.  For example, India was importing their cloth from British textile factories instead of making it themselves.  So Gandhi begin the rally for “Home Spun” cloth.  You may remember iconic scenes from the movie Gandhi when they burned their British clothes and started weaving their own — even Gandhi sat at a loom spinning thread:

In modern times, our friend Abhi informed me that “Made in India” is still a big deal.  Like many countries in the world, India struggles with economic impact of cheap Chinese imports and are beginning to move toward more goods made in India.

Thankfully, there are bright spots.  For example, Indian block printing is alive and well.

The colors and inks they use don’t run in the water and tend to stay vibrant for years.

Typically, the more blocks and colors used the more expensive the item because it is labor intensive to line up the blocks with intricate patterns.

 

Everywhere you go there is a abundance of colorful saris and clothes that turn a relatively dusty backdrop into a richly ornamented color palette.

Colors are enhanced through hand-crafted beadwork and jewelry covering hands, heads, necks, ears and noses.  The best and brightest come out for weddings, and even skin is beautified with Henna designs.

Here are the girls after getting Henna on their hands:

The diversity of colors and fabrics we saw in India will be something that continues to inspire us. It will also remind us to check the labels of the clothes we wear. Where are they made and who is making them?

We live in a globalized world, so we can’t have everything “Made in the USA,” but we will certainly think about the people and the countries who are producing the clothes we wear.

When Nicole and I were married in 1995 we went with the traditional tux and bridal gown.

However, had we seen the world before then we could have opted for these amazing outfits instead!