The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has sent a legal notice to FabIndia for allegedly selling its ready-made cotton garments as khadi products without seeking prior approval. The commission has sought an explanation from the retailer within 15 days, reported ANI.
In the notice that was sent on February 8, KVIC has threatened FabIndia with legal action for violating the khadi trademark regulation, reported Economic Times. “It is an illegal act and, in other words, amounts to indulging in unfair trade practice,” read the notice. According to it, although the labels on the garments mentioned the material was “FabIndia Cotton”, the removable price tags carried the word “khadi”.
KVIC officials argued that the commission’s rules and regulations do not allow any retailer to use its brand. “KVIC is very keen to protect its reputation and will take stringent measures against those who violated rules and regulations that have been framed for the benefit of rural artisans attached to it,” said KVIC chairperson VK Saxena told The Times of India.
FabIndia responded to the notice saying, “We have requested a meeting with the designated authorities to understand the issues that have been raised, and to resolve them,” Chief Executive Officer Viney Singh told The Times of India.
However, this is not the first time that the KVIC has sent such a notice to the ethnic retailer. In 2015, it had asked Fabindia to stop advertising and selling products in the name of khadi. Later, the retailer had said that it has stopped such ad campaigns and issued directions to stop selling the garments with any reference to “khadi”.
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