Online Retailers Remove Fake Khadi Products After Warning By KVIC
Online shopping platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, and more have been forced to remove listings of unauthentic and fake Khadi products after a complaint put forth by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on September 19. In a statement on fake Khadi products, the KVIC had issued many legal notices to more than 1,000 companies that were using the brand name Khadi to earn profits by selling their products. The companies were involved in causing huge damage to the reputation of Khadi and also resulting in the loss of work to craftsmen who are engaged in delivering high-quality Khadi products.
E-commerce portals have been selling products such as khadi masks, kurtas herbal shampoos, soaps, jackets, and more, deceivingly using the name of Khadi. The KVIC said selling the products in the name of Khadi created a wrong impression of the original brand among buyers.
The products that have been removed were mostly from Ayush e-traders. In a statement, the company also confirmed to KVIC that it has removed 140 links related to products sold in the name of ‘Vagad's Khadi Products'.
From the last few days, it has also been noticed that there has been a sharp increase in the violation of Khadi trademark. Especially, during the pandemic, online sellers started exploiting their buyers by selling masks, soap, and shampoos. After noticing these incidents, KVIC came out with its own e-portal for providing genuine Khadi products to buyers.
The chairman of KVIC also issued a statement by saying KVIC has given the violators the option of stop selling products in the name of Khadi or face the legal action. The chairman also said that “Legal notices have been issued to various firms essentially to safeguard the interest of Khadi artisans. This trademark violation has a direct bearing on the livelihood of our artisans who are making genuine handcrafted products.”
For preventing the selling of products in the name of Khadi, KVIC has also employed a legal team that will have a responsibility to take down any unauthorised sellers of fake Khadi products.
In recent times, KVIC has taken a lot of measures to promote Khadi products by promoting ‘Khadi India' as a brand in the world. The objective is also to make ‘Made in India' products popular in both domestic and international markets.
