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Sorting for Circularity India

Sorting for Circularity India

This project was designed to organise and optimise India’s textile waste supply chain. By evaluating various waste streams for collection, sorting, and pre-processing, the initiative aimed to enhance circularity in textiles. It sought to improve collection and sorting systems, foster recycling infrastructure, and introduce innovative solutions to generate new revenue streams and next-generation materials from textile waste-reducing reliance on virgin resources and minimising landfill and incineration.

Problem Statement

India is among the world’s largest textile and apparel sourcing regions and one of the leading apparel markets globally. With high volumes of production and consumption, comes a significant quantity of textile waste comprising both pre-consumer textile waste and post-consumer textile waste. If effectively mapped and sorted, this waste could serve as quality feedstock for recycling technologies and support a circular textile value chain.

Executive Summary

Sorting for Circularity India was launched in November 2021, with partners adidas, Levi Strauss & Co., PVH Corp., Target, H&M, Primark, TESCO, GAP, Arvind Limited, Birla Cellulose, and Welspun India. This 26-month project provided an in-depth analysis of India’s waste supply chain, encompassing comprehensive studies, pilot initiatives, and business case evaluations across various waste streams. 

The project resulted in four key reports:

Wealth in Waste

Pre-Consumer Pilot

Post-Consumer Pilot

Business Case Assessment

Which collectively showcased a range of opportunities, solutions and advancements. These efforts have contributed significantly to strengthening India’s waste supply chain and fostering innovation, investments and policy discussions in the Indian textile industry. 

Goals of the Project

  • Understand the current textile waste material flow in India including volumes, categories and value of textile waste from pre-consumer, domestic post-consumer, and imported.

  • Demonstrate post-industrial and post-consumer (domestic) pilots.

  • Assess business cases for sorters using manual, semi-automated and automated sorting technologies.

Timeline

  • November 2021

    Project Launch

  • Q4 2021 - Q3 2022

    On-ground research and analysis for the landscape study; Launch of Wealth in Waste report on 27th July 2022

  • Q2 2022 - Q4 2022

    Pre-consumer Pilot demonstration with Reverse Resources seven active manufacturers; learnings report published in December 2022.

  • Q1 2023 - Q2 2023

    Post-consumer Pilot demonstration with Matoha, Picvisa and four sorters – Saahas Zero Waste, Greenworms, Hasirudala Innovations and Uptex; learnings report published in September 2023.

  • Q3 2023 - Q4 2023

    On-ground research and analysis for the Business Case assessment for sorters; launched report in December 2023.

  • December 2023

    Project Close

Project Results

  • Potential for High-Quality Feedstock Collection and Sorting: India has strong potential to collect, sort and pre-process substantial amounts of high-quality feedstock suitable for recyclers.

  • Annual Textile Waste Accumulation and Utilisation: India generates approximately 7.7 million tonnes (8.5% of global textile waste) annually, with 59% reused or recycled domestically but limited global integration due to quality and visibility challenges. The remaining 41% is downcycled, incinerated, or landfilled.

  • Composition and location of India’s Textile Waste: Of the 7.7 million tonnes, 3,265 KTonnes are pre-consumer, 3,944 KTonnes are post-consumer domestic, and 584 KTonnes are imported. Cotton and blends dominate (61%), though synthetic blends are rising and now represent about 19%. Most of the textile waste generated domestically and imported to India converges at Panipat and Tirupur, which are major recycling hubs, followed by Amroha and parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat which have medium to small-scale recycling facilities.

  • Competitive Feedstock Costs: Feedstock costs in India are competitive within Asia, with quality differentiation driving price variance.

  • Efficiency in a Fragmented Waste Supply Chain: Despite a fragmented supply chain, the project showcased effective use cases, including high-grade mechanical recycling, post-industrial traceability, and enhanced sorting technology for value-added recycling outputs.

  • Infrastructure Needs for Collection and Sorting: Building collection, sorting, and resale channels is crucial for developing profitable business models for sorting operations. Developing this infrastructure will require funding and policy incentives to ensure scalability. 

  • Business Case Assessment for Sorters: About 48% of the Post-consumer Domestic Waste (PCD) has the potential to be valorised via formalised sorting hubs. Out of this, 35% of the waste can have better utilisation by adopting semiautomated & automated technologies, leading to a revenue increase of 10%. At an industry level, this translates to 1,380 kilo tonnes of waste and INR 388 Cr (going up to INR 1,348 crores in some cases) of additional revenue in one year. However, an enabling environment needs to be created to make these technologies economically viable for a sorting hub.

  • In-Depth Insights Available in Toolkit: Further details are available in the Sorting for Circularity India Toolkit.

  • Additionally: Annex 1, Annex 2, References, Glossary

Stakeholders Involved

Linked Projects

    Piles of clothing in India

    Sorting for Circularity India: Post-Consumer Pilot

    India generates around 3,944k tonnes of post-consumer textile waste annually, with 48% viable for recycling feedstock, though inadequate sorting and recycling systems prevent full utilisation. This project involved two primary pilots that tested sorting innovations: Matoha’s FabriTell desktop scanner for semi-automated sorting and PICVISA’s ECOSORT for fully automated sorting. The pilots aimed to assess these technologies’ ability to categorise waste by fibre and colour efficiently, ultimately facilitating quality feedstock production for recycling. Initial findings suggest India could effectively harness a closed-loop textile recycling system, with cotton and polyester blends as dominant waste types.

    Read more
    Orange pile of processed fibres in factory

    Sorting for Circularity India: Pre-Consumer Pilot

    The Sorting for Circularity India Pre-Consumer Pilot aimed to organise the Indian textile waste market by establishing a circular economy that maximises value recovery from textile waste. This pilot addressed pre-consumer waste (factory floor cutting waste) and aimed to demonstrate a 360° closed-loop system, where factory waste is segregated, digitally traced, and then processed by recyclers to produce new fibres, which are returned to the production chain. The initiative sought to enhance transparency, traceability, and efficiency in India’s textile waste management system.

    Read more

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