Globalization, Youth and Khadi
6 Globalization, Youth and Khadi Upinder Kaur* and Hitender Singh Rathore** Khadi is hand woven, hand spun fabric made with natural fibers. Unique features like zero carbon footprint make Khadi, India’s truly indigenous textile. There is a strong demand for fashion apparels in the Indian market.The buying behaviour of Indian apparel sector is affected by the existence of young population, globalization, higher buying power, and self-image. This paper investigates the perception of the brand image of Khadi and preference of Khadi textiles/apparel among the youth in Delhi between the age group 20-35 years. Purposive sampling was conducted through structured questionnaire and observation of 168 young consumers at malls and shopping centers. The Major Statistical tool used for analysis was ANOVA.This study finds the inclination of the youth is more towards International and other domestic fashion brands in comparison to the brand Khadi. Based on the findings, recommendations are suggested to Khadi textile industry so that it could become youth-centric. [Keywords : Globalization, Youth, Khadi, Brand awareness, Brand perception, Self-image]. 1. Introduction In Mahatma Gandhi’s own words Khadi is defined as “Hand-woven cloth made of hand-spun yarn is of course khadi, however fine it may be. It may be made of cotton, silk or even of wool. One should wear whichever of these one happens to find convenient. The khadi from Andhra is very fine. In Assam, one can get some khadi made of silk. Woollen khadi is made in Kathiawar. In other words, the only criterion of khadi is its being hand-spun and hand-woven” (Gandhi, CWMG, Vol 28, 1925).
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