Sunlight launches ‘Sunlight Tantir Rong’, an initiative to support Bengal’s local handloom weavers

• The Sunlight initiative will connect12 traditional local weavers with the famous fashion designer, Parama Ghosh, and unveilthe first exclusive saree collection, especially curated for Durga Pujo this year
• Sunlight has launched a new campaignand special edition Sunlight Pujo Pack to promote the initiative and encourage people to support this cause

Kolkata, :Sunlight detergent, West Bengal’s most loved and iconic detergent brand, today announced the launch of its new initiative ‘Sunlight Tantir Rong’to support Bengal’s local handloom weavers.

Over the last few years, weavers in Bengal have been struggling given the changing consumer preferences and the rise of power looms. Covid-19 has worsened the situation, severely impacting the lives and livelihoods of these skilled weavers. Thousands of these weavers, who have been dressing Bengal in myriad colours over generations are now facing an existential crisis, signaling a dark future for this traditional craft of Bengal.

This Pujo, Sunlight wants to add back colours to the lives of these weavers who have been adding so many colours to people’slives. ‘Sunlight Tantir Rong’ will connect these traditional weavers with famous contemporary designers, to give them a platform to showcase their magic and art.  Sunlight will launch its first exclusive collection with the fashion designer Parama Ghosh (https://paramacalcutta.com/) in collaboration with 12 local weavers from Bengal. The website will serve as a platform to showcase their skills and also allow consumers to explore the collection and buy the sarees to support the cause.

For this first and exclusive collection, Parama has blended traditional motives with her signature style, inspired from Bengali literature, classic films, extraordinary women and the majestic beauty of Bengal to create a vibrant, magical and eclectic collection of 25 sarees across five traditional clusters – Taant, Jamdani, Begumpuri, Shantipuri and Gawrod.The collection features five iconic women from Bengal – Somlata Acharyya, Sohini Sengupta, Nandini Bhowmick, Parama Ghosh and Alaknanda Roy respectively.

Additionally, SVF, Eastern India’s largest entertainment company, will also show support by featuring some of these creations in their upcoming films & digital content,also giving end credits to the weavers.

Commenting on the initiative, Prabha Narasimhan, Executive Director – Home Care,HUL, says, “Since time immemorial,handlooms have been a part of local culture in West Bengaland many of these weavers who have been adding colours in our lives since generations have been hit hard by the pandemic. We are delighted to launch‘Sunlight Tantir Rong’, aninitiative which will provide the community with a platform to showcase their magical art and talent and bring them at our fingertips. This initiative is a small step towards bringing back colours to the lives of these weavers and their families.”

Parama Ghosh, Owner and Designer at ParamaCalcutta shares, “By partnering with Sunlight, we have managed to come up with an eclectic collection of designs that are perfect blend of contemporary and traditional. This initiative not only upholds the traditional Bengali heritage, but also supports the livelihood of a community that has been adding colours to our lives for so many decades.”

Arindam Biswa, Head of Brands and Strategy, SVF Entertainment, said, “This is not just a campaign but a movement to uplift a community where the art of handloom weaving is diminishing. Sunlight and Parama Calcutta have been our pillar of strength and this experience has been extremely humbling for all of us. Also, redesigning the iconic yellow Sunlight packet with the five different weaves from Parama’s collections has been a complete delight.”

Balram, a local handloom weaverfrom Katwa, Bardhaman district said “The rich legacy of our forefathers lived in the colourful threads and hand-woven sarees. The threads were our lifeline, but everything changed with the pandemic with little to no work coming our way. The Sunlight Tantir Rong initiative will actually help us get back on our feet again. Weaving is our traditional art, and we are happy that our artistry will live on.”

To create awareness about the initiative and help drive support from the customers, Sunlight has also unveiled a campaign which brings alive the story of Balram, a weaver from Katwa (a small weaving town in WB), his journey, trials, and tribulations. By launching the Sunlight Pujo pack edition, for the first time ever, the brand has also changed the product pack design to take this campaign to the masses. The pack will have a QR Codewhich can be scanned and will take people directly to the campaign website, where they can explore and buy from the exclusive collection.