The combination of traditional designs blended with modern trends in modern material woven in new processing techniques has made export quality Sri Lanka Handlooms access the competitive international market.
Sri Lanka exports curtaining, table linen, bed linen, kitchen linen, upholstery and dress fabric and other products to foreign markets. The products in demand in the local market are curtaining, table linen, bed linen furnishing, cushion covers, sarongs and sarees. Currently, cotton and silk yarn is imported from India and Korea, monthly. Around 900 private handloom producers inclusive of small, medium and large-scale are operating in the country.
The handloom textile industry is a highly labour intensive, export oriented rural based industry. However, lack of weavers and the high production cost has hampered the growth of the industry considerably. There is a slight decrease in the current workforce in the industry as it is labour intensive.
Handloom textiles are produced in Sri Lanka within the confines of a small-scale industry that generate employment to rural women. Among the Handloom textiles produced are household linen such as bedclothes and towels, upholstery materials, furnishing materials such as curtaining, cushions covers, saris and sarongs. Books, notebooks, albums, and even writing pads are now clothed with this handcrafted material of textile. The handloom woven cotton and silk textiles of vibrant colors have been popular among the locals as well as the tourists.
(ST/KH)
