Kerala’s Kozhikode district wants to revive its legacy as a textile hub. Vastramandala is a consortium of apparel units formed for this purpose. The objective of the consortium is to promote the products of these apparel units under a brand, Kudumbashree, across the state. The products which mainly include children's apparel and other readymade clothes would undergo strict quality checks so as to compete with the top brands in the field.

Two apparel manufacturing units have been set up. The new units have been named Calico Designs and Calico Fashions. Workers have undergone training in apparel designing at the National Institute of Fashion Technology and would be soon provided further training with modern technologies in the field.

Kudumbashree is an all-women collective of members selected from poor households. There is a huge number of women in Kerala who are members. Their sheer number allows Kudumbashree members to access linkage banking, insurance schemes, grants, interest subsidies and the like. Kudumbashree includes nearly half the households in Kerala. In other words, half the state's population makes a living out of this program.

Kudumbashree today runs about 35,000 microenterprises in fields as diverse as food processing and handicraft and cosmetics.