GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION CONFLICTS AND THE CHALLENGE: PROTECTING PASHMINA IN GLOBAL TRADE

INTRODUCTION

Background:

Pashmina, “The Fibre of Kings,” has its origins in the Sultan of Kashmir Zain-ul-Abidin's fascination with Turkistanese tapestry-woven shawls during the 15th century . Due to his fascination, he called the weavers from Turkistan to Kashmir to teach the art to the local people . This is where the foundation of the Pashmina industry was laid. It gained maximum significance during the Mughal era in the reign of Mughal emperors Akbar and Shah Jahan who made it famous in the European continent . With time, Pashmina became a global heritage.

According to Section 2(e) of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 , Geographical Indications (GIs) are given to goods such as

• agricultural goods,
• natural goods, or
• manufactured goods

that acquire distinct characteristics in terms of quality and reputation attributed to their;

• geographical origin or
• activities related to production, processing, or preparation taking place at a specific location in case of manufactured goods .

Hence, geographical indications distinguish a product from others in that category. The tagline of Geographical Indication;

“Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India”

“अतुल्य भारत की अमूल्य निधियाँ”

Figure 1: Geographical Indication Logo

says it all regarding the significance of GIs. GIs protect the products with special characteristics and quality. Products with GI tags are considered to be an invaluable treasure of India and are protected against any fraud or cheap copy that can harm the reputation of the product. GIs recognize the products for their special quality and distinct characteristics. As of December 31st, 2024, there are 658 active GI tag products in India out of which three GI tags were given to three different varieties of Pashmina ;

 Kashmir Pashmina (Jammu & Kashmir)

 Basohli Pashmina Woolen Product (Jammu & Kashmir)

 Pashmina Wool of Ladakh (Ladakh)

GIs recognize the products for their special quality and distinct characteristics at national and international levels. However, even after the GI protection, many instances of low-quality and fabricated pashmina products have been observed over the years. This resulted in the decline of the popularity and sales of pashmina which directly impacted the labor community associated with manufacturing Pashmina. This posed a challenge before the authenticity of the GI products. Also, due to low wages, a sharp decline in the number of Pashmina workers has been observed. This raises questions on the enforcement and scope of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 of India . Up to what extent does the GI Act protect GI products and how? What are the inherent applications and motives behind the GI Act? Is it only limited to providing recognition to the products and it has any incentive for the local communities associated with those products? All such questions will be considered and discussed in this paper.

Figure 2: Himalayan Changthangi Goat

Research Outline:

This paper is divided into four sections which are as follows:

Section 1: Technical aspects of Pashmina and its authentication.

Section 2: Statutory Provisions to tackle the infringement and passing off of GI products in India.

Section 3: Reasons for the decline of Pashmina and other enforcement initiatives to protect Pashmina.

Section 4: Author’s POV and way ahead.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Section 1: Technical aspects of Pashmina and its authentication

The word ‘Pashmina’ has its origin in the Urdu word ‘Pashm’ which means wool. Pashm is the wool obtained from the Changthangi goat or Himalayan goat native to the Himalayan region and has a soft and warm undercoat to adapt to the extremely cold climate . It makes their wool very thin, soft, and popular among people. These goats are usually found in India, Nepal, and Tibet .

There are eight stages in production of pashmina;

Figure 3: Process of making of Pashmina

Pashmina made with this process acquires a few technical features based on which it becomes eligible to get the GI tag certification. Also, there are certain tests to testify the authenticated pashmina due to its quality which are explained in detail below:

Technical features for Pashmina:

Pashmina is known for its fine, warm, and soft fibre; lightweight; and durability . It can be classified into two categories;

 Cashmere: various kinds of wools processed by spinning machines .

 Pashmina: Hand-spun and weaving of wool from Changthangi goat due to its delicate nature .

To get a GI Tag, Pashmina needs to possess the following technical features:

 Diameter of the fibre :

The diameter of the Pashmina fibre is 12 to 15 macrons which is finer than the standard cashmere which has a diameter of 15 to 18 macrons.

 Hand-spun fibre :

Real Pashmina is a hand-spun fibre which also plays an important role in its lightweight and warmth .

 Made using Traditional handloom :

The weaving of the wool has to be done on the traditional wooden handloom with the traditional method to obtain the authenticated pashmina wool .

After ensuring all these technical details, the GI certification is granted to Pashmina. Hence, the real Pashmina products have GI tags on them.

Methods of authentication of real Pashmina:

 Burn Test :

Take a few fibres of the product and burn them. After burning, if it turns into ashes and has an odour like burning hair, it is real pashmina . Synthetic fibres will become like hard threads after burning and give out a burning plastic-like smell .

 Rubbing Test :

A rubbing test is done to differentiate animal fibre from synthetic one . It does not authenticate the pashmina itself but can determine whether the wool is animal wool or synthetic . In the rubbing test, if after rubbing the product shows sparks, it is synthetic fibre as animal wool never produces sparks. It only gives warmth .

 Glue Test :

Nothing can be stuck on genuine Pashmina wool with glue for a long . Hence, if one finds a tag stuck with glue on the Pashmina product, then it is not real Pashmina . On real Pashmina, tags are usually stitched and not glued .

 Wiggle test :

The wiggle test involves placing the pashmina product between the index finger and thumb and wiggling them . If because of this wiggle, appears a mark on the product, the product is acrylic and not real pashmina .

 Microscopic Test :

Due to the use of traditional wooden handloom, the real pashmina has block-like patterns close to each other when observed under the microscope with transmitted light under it . If it does not appear the same, it is fake .

 Dimension Test :

The standard dimension for Pashmina is 36/80 and the higher it gets, the costlier the product will be . Hence, if a pashmina with standard or higher dimensions is being sold at a low price, then it is a fake one and one can report it as it is not allowed to fake the GI tag products .

 Ring Test :

Rings test is very popular among people to test the authentication of pashmina . However, this test was initially made for Shahtoosh shawls and any soft fabric can pass the ring test . Hence, this test is invalid and can be used to deceive people for true pashmina .

Section 2: Statutory Provisions to tackle the infringement and passing off of GI products in India

GI tags provide recognition to the products at the national and international levels. It certifies the quality and authenticity of the goods. However, if someone fraudulently uses the GI tags, there are remedies provided under the Indian GI statute. Under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, of 1999 , procedures and remedies are provided under Section 20, Section 66 and Section 67 which are discussed in detail as follows:

 Section 20: “No Action for Infringement of Unregistered Geographical Indication” :

Section 20 of the GI Act, 1999 says that for unregistered Geographical Indications, rights such as

are not available . However, it does not prevent any person it instituting suit against a person for passing off goods in the name of another person .

Hence, according to Section 20, it is necessary for a good to be registered as a geographical indication in order to get protection against infringement. Only registered GI products are governed and protected under the GI Act.

 Section 66: “Suit for Infringement etc., to be instituted before District Court” :

According to section 66, suits related to infringement, enforcement of rights, and/or passing off concerning a geographical indication shall not be instituted in a court inferior to the District Court of appropriate jurisdiction . The jurisdiction of the district court would be decided as per the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), or any other law for the time being in force .

Hence, section 66 determines the place where the suit for infringement or passing off or the enforcement of rights can be filed and how the court of appropriate jurisdiction would be determined.

 Section 67: “Relief in Suit for Infringement or for Passing Off” :

Section 67 of the GI Act deals with the relief and remedies provided for infringement of the geographical indications in the form of;

subject to the conditions as the court thinks fit and

at the option of the plaintiff .

Injunction includes an ex-parte injunction or any interlocutory injunction for;

However, if the defendant satisfies the court in the case of infringement/passing off of his unawareness of the registered GI and when he became aware, he stopped the use of that GI with immediate effect, plaintiff cannot get relief through damages .

Apart from this, Section 39, Section 40, and Section 41 of the GI Act provides the provisions related to penalty for using Gi tag on fake goods, selling the fake goods with GI tag, and subsequent offences which are discussed in detail as follows:

Section 39: “Penalty for Applying False Geographical Indications” :

Section 39 lays down the penalties for applying the false GIs. There is a provision of minimum six months and maximum three years of imprisonment along with fine between fifty thousand rupees to two lakhs rupees for intentionally;

Section 40: “Penalty for Selling Goods to which False Geographical Indication is Applied” :

Under Section 40, the penalty of imprisonment of not less that six-month extendable upto three years and a fine for minimum fifty thousand rupees extendable upto two lakh rupees is provisioned for selling, exposing for sale, hiring for sale, or possessing for sale the goods with false GI unless;

However, the court after citing proper reason can make the sentence and fine less than six months and fifty thousand rupees respectively .

Section 41: “Enhanced Penalty on Second or Subsequent Conviction” :

For repetitive offenders under section 39 and 40, the punishment would be;

However, the court after citing proper reason can make the sentence and fine less than one year and one lakh rupees respectively .

Section 3: Reasons for the decline of Pashmina and other enforcement initiatives to protect Pashmina

Even after having multiple GI tags, there was a decline observed in the popularity of Pashmina. Major reasons for the decline are as follows:

1. Decline of hand spinning :

Over the years, a sharp decline has been observed in the hand spinning sue to the low wages for the workers working on the handlooms . In an interview, a fifty-year-old woman broke down while mentioning her monthly wages . After working all the day round they get sixty rupees a day and roughly 1000 rupees a month . This is making this traditional handloom practice disappear. This affects the quality of the thread too. In older times, women used to compete with each other to make the fibre as fine as a lotus stem . The low wages are the reason that the younger generation is not interested in carrying forward to legacy.

1. Economic disparities in Pashmina production:

The market rate of pashmina starts with 8,000 and reaches upto lakhs . This raises the question of economic disparity among the seller/traders of pashmina and the worker that make it. When the market rate of Pashmina is so high, why the labours are being paid so less for their hard work.

1. Rise of machine spun cheap fabric:

The most significant reason behind this decline is the machine spun cheap fabric. When people get the Pashmina worth eight thousand rupees in just five thousand rupees, why would they spend more money? This makes people move towards the ‘cashmere’ instead of Pashmina. Also, machines take very less time to produce the finished product, whereas if the handloom workers get an order of 1000 shawls, they won’t be able to finish it any sooner .

Enforcement Initiatives taken by the government are as follows:

1. Pashmina Wool Development Scheme :

Pashmina Wool Development Scheme is the scheme launched by the Ministry of Textile under the 12th five-year plan in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh with an allocated budget of 29.25 crore rupees for 2021-22 to 2025-26 for procurement and marketing of Pashmina .

1. Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) :

Pashmina Promotion Programme is another program for promotion for Pashmina that was launched under the 12th five-year plan . On August 12, 2014, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launcher P-3 for enhancing the quality and quantity of Pashmina with financial assistance of additional 30 crore rupees . It also focused on the improving the living standard of nomads of Ladakh region that grows the woo l.

1. Pashmina Dehairing Plant in Leh :

Pashmina Dehairing Plant in Leh was the part of Pashmina Promotion Program . The mentioned plant was made with a vision of importing the latest technology machinery for dehairing, scouring, drying and boiler along with construction of a new building for the machinery . A total budget of 19.35 crores was allocated for the establishment of the plant .

Section 4: Author’s POV and way ahead:

As discussed so far Geographical Indications are the medium to preserve and protect the traditional heritage and products with special characteristics of India. To enforce the protection, the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 was enacted and is still in force. Considering the case of pashmina, it shows the GI Act is lacking in providing proper protection to the products as a decline was observed in the demand of pashmina for multiple reasons such as no proper economic incentives are provided to the workers, machines products are being prioritized over the handwoven due to less time consumption in manufacturing and cheap cost, and so on. Government of India has taken multiple initiatives to prevent the decline by launching schemes and allocating budget for marketing a promotion of Pashmina and for the nomads working hard to produce Pashmina. Hence, following the recommendations for overcoming the above-mentioned problems:

 Proper implementation of all the schemes launched to enhance the quality and quantity of Pashmina.

 Proper marketing at international level.

 Consumer awareness to distinguish between real and fake pashmina.

 Social media campaigns to increase the reach of the product.

 Establishment of cottage industries to make the Pashmina workers self-dependant and sell their product.

 Promotion of Pashmina through international trade fairs.

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