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Insights
Research-informed perspectives on fashion, culture and markets.
Do the stories and labels attached to craft products ever amount to accountability?
Nazlı Alimen, Rohit K Dasgupta and Diviani Chaudhuri
LSE Inequalities · 6 October 2026
Naming makers and celebrating their skills can bring recognition. But what do these stories reveal about pay, working conditions and who benefits? We explore what meaningful accountability requires when brands use craft and heritage to create value.
Craftwashing: When claims about artisanship, heritage or benefits to makers are misleading, exaggerated or false
Rohit K Dasgupta, Nazlı Alimen and Diviani Chaudhuri
LSE Inequalities · 30 September 2026
What does a “handmade” claim actually guarantee? Drawing on fieldwork in India, we examine how craft claims are verified, where certification falls short, and why authentic products do not necessarily mean fair conditions for their makers.
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