Italian start up keen to promote traditional Nepali fabrics in international markets

The Packing Man, an Italian start up company, is taking an initiative to promote traditional Nepali fabrics in the European and American markets. In this regard, Ivanna Jamin, co-founder of The Packing Man and Taylor Carlin, chief creative officer of the company are currently in Nepal studying the entire fabric production system and also collecting several fabric samples like allo, allo mixed with cotton, allo mixed with wool, dhaka mixed with cotton, dhaka mixed with wool, among others.

The duo visited key fabric production areas in western Nepal like Pokhara, Kushma, Parbat, among others, in coordination with Micro-Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP).

Jamin said that their main objective is to preserve traditional craftsmanship (fabric, textile, etcetera), where they collect stories of people engaged in such craftsmanship and deliver it to urban markets and consumers. They sees a huge potential for Nepali fabrics and textiles industry, and believes the interesting stories of micro-entrepreneurs involved in the business need to be promoted.

The firm wants to focus on traditionality of Nepali fabrics and disseminate factual information to help Nepali micro-entrepreneurs demonstrate their culture and creativity. This will give the much-needed exposure for Nepali craftsmanship in the world market.

Similarly, Carlin said that the firm plans to make Nepali allo fabrics into winter coats, women’s suits, formal shirts and try different designs and handwork in Italy and other markets using Nepali allo fabrics and textiles. They focus on slow fashion and work on sourcing fabrics ethically and sustainably.

The company has collected traditionality of fabrics, textiles and other craftsmanship from Indonesia and Nepal and is preparing to promote them. Similarly, the firm also plans to promote traditional craftsmanship of South Africa and Bhutan. In doing so, it aims to create a linkage between potential buyers and micro-entrepreneurs across countries.

The company also aims to empower women from various countries and has two other women partners — Henriette Boe Kettilson (Norway) and Carl Johann De Nassau (Luxembourg).

Moved by the traditional craftsmanship in Nepal, the firm plans to promote as well as outsource textile and fabric products of micro entrepreneurs in the international market as they are beautiful, qualitative and consumable.