Vinay Singh, the CEO of Fabindia, has said that the company has responded to the legal notice sent by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for allegedly selling its ready-made cotton garments as khadi products without seeking prior approval and requested a meeting with the designated authorities to understand the issues.
"We are in receipt of the notice and have responded to KVIC, requesting a meeting with the designated authorities to understand the issues that have been raised, and to resolve them," said Singh in a statement.
The KVIC has sought an explanation from the retailer within 15 days after it had threatened Fabindia with legal action for violating the khadi trademark regulation.
"Fabindia Overseas Private Limited is India's largest retail platform for a wide range of products produced by artisans and craft-persons living largely in rural areas. Established in 1960, Fabindia is a home grown Indian brand," added the company statement.
However, KVIC had said that despite written assurances, FabIndia is selling readymade garments at its outlets under the name of 'khadi' and have also put up prominent Khadi display panels at their sales outlets.
The legal notice noted that a close scrutiny of garments sold by FabIndia and their price tag showed while the labels stitched on the garments mentioned them as 'FabIndia Cotton', however price tag, which was removable, had the word 'khadi' and pointed this proved that FabIndia was misleading the consumers.