In addition to making profits, our aims are constant development of new handwoven products; a fair,
equitable, and helpful relationship with our producers; and the maintenance of quality, on which our reputation rests. John L. Bissell, Founder of Fabindia
In May 2008, India-based exporter and retailer of textiles and home accessories, Fabindia Overseas Pvt Ltd (Fabindia), announced that by the end of the year, about 20,000 weavers from backward communities would become shareholders in about 35 of its subsidiary companies. Commenting on the development, Managing Director of Fabindia, William Bissell (Bissell), said, "Weavers now have a sense of ownership of the company. They now understand when we tell them not to raise their labor costs as the higher profits will come back to them as dividend as well as capital appreciation."
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John Bissell ?
John L. Bissell was born in Hartford and educated at the Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts and at Yale. His love for India began as a child, listening to tales his father told of his time in India during World War II. After college, John worked at Macy's, and began to like the look and feel of hand-woven fabrics. Those two interests merged in 1958, when he was given a two-year grant from the Ford Foundation to instruct Indian villagers in making goods for export. Once his grant expired, John decided to remain in India.
In 1958, well before American companies were sourcing from India, John Bissell left his position as a buyer for Macy’s New York to work as a consultant for the Ford Foundation in order to develop India’s export potential in its emerging textile industry. Despite his inability to speak any Indian language, he travelled extensively and m ...