6 Questions to Ask Before You Buy a GI Product

A GI saree costs more than its powerloom lookalike, and for good reason. Weeks of handwork, a particular yarn and a particular place all go into it. Yet a tag on the pouch or a line in a product listing tells you very little on its own. Banarasi silk, for example, is copied in Surat on power looms and sold under the same famous name.

The safest step before buying GI products is to ask the seller a few direct questions. A genuine maker or retailer will answer them easily, and you can check most of the answers on your phone in a few minutes. These are the six questions to ask craft sellers, in the order that saves you the most time.

1. Are You a Registered Authorised User of This GI?

India’s GI law gives authorised users the exclusive right to use a registered GI on their goods. 

A weaver, cooperative or producer firm becomes a GI authorised user by applying to the GI Registry with proof that they make the product. In 2020 the application fee fell from ₹500 to ₹10, which opened the door to many more small producers.

The numbers have grown quickly as a result. India had 29,624 authorised users across 643 registered GIs by August 2024, up from 6,935 before the rule change. So ask the seller for their authorised user (AU) number.

How to check the number yourself

Each AU number follows a set pattern. It begins with “AU” and includes the GI’s application number, as in AU/28303/GI/717/1. Open the GI public search on the IP India website, look up the product by name and scroll to the authorised user list on its record. The list shows each user’s name, address and registration status.

If the seller is a retailer

Many shops and online stores do not weave anything themselves, and that is normal. In that case, ask which registered weaver or cooperative supplied the piece, and check that name on the list. A retailer who cannot name a single registered supplier is giving you a reason to pause.

2. Is Your Registration Still Valid?

An authorised user registration lasts 10 years and has to be renewed along with the GI itself. If the GI is not renewed, it is removed from the register, so both dates count. The GI record on the public search shows a “Registration Valid Upto” date.

A quick GI certificate check takes two steps. First, compare the date on any printed certificate the seller shows you with the online record. Second, confirm that the name on the certificate matches the name on the register. An expired certificate, or a name missing from the register, means the GI claim on the label cannot be relied on.

3. Where Exactly Was This Piece Made, and by Whom?

Every registered GI covers a defined area, whether that is a district, a cluster of villages or a single town. A seller who knows the product will name the village or weaving cluster, and often the weaver or family workshop too. Vague replies such as “from the South” or “from a supplier in Varanasi” are worth questioning.

This question also reaches something the tag cannot. As we explored in an earlier piece, a GI confirms where a craft comes from but says nothing about who made it or how she was paid. A maker’s name brings you closer to both.

4. What Is It Made Of, and Was It Woven by Hand?

Each GI is registered with a written description of the yarn, the loom and the technique that give the product its character. Ask the seller to state the fibre, the type of zari if there is any, and whether the piece came off a handloom or a powerloom.

Then check what you can with your own eyes. If you are working out how to buy authentic sarees, turn the fabric over first. The reverse of a hand-woven piece usually shows its weave structure clearly, and small irregularities in the pattern point to a person at the loom. A surface that looks machine-perfect from edge to edge deserves a second look.

Price is part of the answer too. A pure silk GI weave sold far below the usual rate is very likely a powerloom copy or a blended fabric.

5. Which Other Labels Can I Verify?

A GI speaks to origin. It does not certify the fibre or the loom. Two government-backed labels add that detail, and you can check both on the spot.

The Handloom Mark

Run by the Textiles Committee since 2006, the Handloom Mark confirms that a product is hand-woven. Producers go through an onsite check before they can use it. More than 22,000 users are registered, and over 13 crore products carry the label. Each label has a unique QR code that you can scan with the committee’s customer app.

In 2025 the Ministry of Textiles also proposed rules that would make the Handloom Mark compulsory for any product sold as “handloom” once they are notified.

The Silk Mark

For silk, look for the Silk Mark. Each label carries a hologram and a unique number that traces the product back to the registered seller. You can verify the number on the Silk Mark Organisation of India website, or scan the QR code on newer labels.

A GI piece sold as hand-woven silk can carry all three marks. When it carries none besides the GI name, the seller should be able to explain why.

6. Will You Put These Details on the Bill?

A seller’s answers are only useful if you can rely on them later. Ask for an invoice that names the GI product, the AU number, the fibre and the maker or cooperative. Keep any Handloom Mark or Silk Mark code with it.

This paperwork protects you. If you later doubt a Handloom Mark product, the Textiles Committee asks for the bill and the code number when you raise a complaint. It also supports makers. Authorised users can take action against copies, and in 2015 the authorised users of Pochampally ikat filed a police complaint against sellers of duplicate sarees.

Your GI Buying Checklist

Save this buying handloom checklist on your phone and run through it before you pay.

Ask First, Then Buy

A GI name carries generations of skill, and it is worth more than a glance at a tag. These six questions take a few minutes. They separate the weaver in Pochampally or Banaras from the powerloom unit borrowing the name of her town.

An authentic GI purchase starts with the seller, and TuDuGu holds itself to the same test. Our tagline reads “Handmade. Ethical. Traceable.” and traceability is what gives GI weaves their full value. Ask us these six questions about anything you find on our marketplace. We welcome them, because change begins with the questions you ask before you buy.