{"id":79045,"date":"2026-07-13T18:25:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=79045"},"modified":"2026-07-13T18:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:56:20","slug":"sustainable-india-textiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-07-2026\/sustainable-india-textiles","title":{"rendered":"Weaving Sustainability Into India\u2019s Textile Future\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: <\/strong><strong>GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-06-2026\/textile-industry-india\"><strong>India\u2019s textile sector<\/strong><\/a> is increasingly embracing <strong>circular economy principles<\/strong> to improve sustainability, resource efficiency and global competitiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-06-2026\/textile-industry-india\"><strong>Textile Industry in India<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The textile and apparel industry is one of the largest manufacturing industries of India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It contributes about <strong>2% towards India\u2019s GDP<\/strong> and accounts for <strong>nearly 11% of manufacturing GVA.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India is the <strong>6th largest exporter<\/strong> of textiles and apparel, with <strong>almost 4% of global exports.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It directly employs <strong>more than 45 million people<\/strong>, especially women and rural workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"98bdd3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #98bdd3;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"246\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-136.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-79046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-136.png 602w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-136-300x123.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Circular Economy For the Textile Industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The goal of a circular economy is to extend the productive use of materials as long as possible through<strong> reuse, repair, recycling, upcycling and resource recovery.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Circularity reduces waste, saves water and energy, cuts carbon emissions and limits reliance on virgin raw materials, unlike the <strong>traditional take-make-dispose model.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s traditional practices of repair, reuse and recycling of textiles are well suited to this model.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-02-2026\/india-textile-value-chain\"><strong>Circularity in India\u2019s Textile Value Chain<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Annually <strong>around 7.8 million tonnes<\/strong> of textile waste are dealt with.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More than 90 percent comes from domestic pre-consumer and post-consumer waste.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Almost 70% of textile waste is recovered through <strong>recycling, reuse, upcycling or downcycling.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Approximately 95% of factory waste (pre-consumer).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The diversion rate of post-consumer textile waste from landfill is around 55%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The recycling ecosystem provides livelihood to 40-45 lakh people, especially women, in collection and sorting of recyclables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Successful Circular Textile Models in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Navi Mumbai Textile Recovery Facility: <\/strong>First Municipal Textile Recovery Facility in India integrates collection, sorting, upcycling, technology and livelihood generation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It has handled thousands of textile products, created hundreds of upcycled products, touched over one lakh households, and empowered women artisans with market access.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Panipat (India&#8217;s Textile Recycling Hub):<\/strong> Panipat has emerged as the largest downstream textile recycling cluster in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Collection, sorting, processing, knitting and recycling manage <strong>3,500 to 5,250 tonnes of textile waste per day.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The cluster has huge potential for high-value <strong>textile-to-textile recycling.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Katran Market, Mongolpuri in Delhi (Informal Circular Economy)<\/strong>: Contribution of informal sector towards sustainability.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Workers pick up cuttings from garments clusters and segregate them into different colours and qualities, and send recyclable material to Panipat, thus adding strength to India\u2019s circular value chain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives Across Textile Value Chain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP):<\/strong> It encourages organic-certified production.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Organic cotton certification is internationally recognised.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It allows exports to European markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jute-ICARE:<\/strong> It promotes scientific and sustainable cultivation of jute. It also promotes certified seeds and improved retting techniques.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is very greatly expanded over states and cultivated areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New Age Fibre Mission:<\/strong> Promotion of sustainable fibres like flax, sisal and ramie.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The goal is to establish India as a global leader of climate-smart fibre production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Fibre Scheme:<\/strong> It has a focus on natural fibre, manmade fibre and advanced fibre.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Its objective is to cut down import dependence and spur innovation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PM MITRA Parks<\/strong>: The PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks are based on the<strong> 5F Vision: Farm \u2192 Fibre \u2192 Factory \u2192 Fashion \u2192 Abroad<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sustainability features include:<\/strong> Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs); recycling of waste water; scientific waste management; shared green infrastructure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are seven integrated parks being developed in various states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Assistance to MSMEs: <\/strong>As MSMEs constitute more than 80% of the textile production capacity, support is being provided for a green transition through:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>MSE-GIFT:<\/strong> Interest subsidy, credit guarantee, support for green technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MSE-SPICE:<\/strong> It promotes circular economy, resource efficient technologies and capital subsidy for sustainable machinery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indian Carbon Market: <\/strong>Textile industries to report carbon emissions under <strong>Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), 2023.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Those that cleanly produce more than their target are rewarded with Carbon Credit Certificates, providing a financial incentive to go beyond emissions targets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Waste Management and Resource Recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Textile Recycling Potential: <\/strong>The textile recycling industry in India is likely to reach nearly <strong>USD 3.5 billion by 2030<\/strong> and create about <strong>one lakh green jobs<\/strong> over the next five years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986:<\/strong> The updated Rules strengthen waste segregation, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), resource recovery and circular economy principles.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They promote the use of <strong>Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)<\/strong> from high calorific wastes such as textiles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM):<\/strong> It supports research on conversion of textile waste, biomass utilisation, carbon fibres and advanced sustainable materials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Effluent Standards:<\/strong> The textile industries need to set up Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and <strong>Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) <\/strong>to meet the environmental discharge norms as per Environment (Protection) Rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Promoting Sustainable Markets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Eco-Mark Scheme, 2024:<\/strong> Textiles are included in India\u2019s Eco-Mark certification. It assesses products on resource efficiency, energy use, climate impact, waste production and hazardous substances.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Traceability and Quality Certification:<\/strong> <strong>Kasturi Cotton and Silk Mark<\/strong> are initiatives that boost traceability, responsible sourcing and acceptance in the international market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bharat Tex:<\/strong> The event has emerged as India\u2019s flagship textile expo featuring sustainable textiles, technical textiles, innovations from MSMEs, circular economy practices and international buyer-seller meetups.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The event is a reflection of India\u2019s ambition to become a global hub for sustainable textile manufacturing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reduction of Hazardous Chemicals:<\/strong> India has banned benzidine-based dyes and various hazardous azo dyes, and made commitments to the <strong>Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Awareness Campaigns:<\/strong> Key programmes are Sustainable Resolution (SURE), Circle Back Campaign, Circular Samvaad and Cluster Exchange Mechanism.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These encourage sustainable consumption, recycling and the adoption of ESG practices across the industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Limited recycling of mixed fibre textiles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dominance of informal recycling sector.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limited technologies for textile to textile recycling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High water consumption in the processing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dyeing units chemical pollution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Low consumer awareness on sustainable fashion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More traceability across supply chains is required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Road Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Utilise the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote fibre to fibre recycling technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Formalisation and incorporation of informal waste collectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scaling up green finance to MSMEs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhanced traceability through digital technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote sustainable public procurement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Boost research on bio-based fibres and technical textiles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Align Indian Standards with new global sustainability regulations.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressNoteDetails.aspx?id=159187&amp;NoteId=159187&amp;ModuleId=3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: PIB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nContext:<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nIndia\u2019s textile sector is increasingly embracing circular economy principles to improve sustainability, resource efficiency and global competitiveness.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/p>\n<p>Importance of Textile Industry in India<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\n<p>The textile and apparel industry is one of the largest manufacturing industries of India.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>It contributes about 2% towards India\u2019s GDP and accounts for nearly 11% of manufacturing GVA.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-07-2026\/sustainable-india-textiles \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79048,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79045\/revisions\/79048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}