The State of Circular Innovations in the Indian Fashion and Textile Industry
This report introduces the pressing need for transitioning the Indian fashion and textile industry from a linear to a circular model. It emphasises the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the industry and positions circularity as a critical pathway for sustainable growth. It provides an overview of the current status, challenges, and opportunities for circular innovations within India’s textile and apparel value chain.
Executive Summary
India’s fashion and textile industry plays a vital role in the country’s economic and social landscape, but its dependence on linear models of production and consumption has led to significant environmental challenges. This report highlights the growing importance of transitioning to circular practices, mapping out the current state of circular innovations across the value chain. It explores the efforts of startups, brands, and manufacturers in driving sustainable change, while identifying key barriers such as infrastructure gaps, limited policy support, and lack of awareness. This report emphasises the need for a collaborative approach among ecosystem players, including government bodies, investors, and enablers to scale these innovations. By offering strategic insights and targeted recommendations, it aims to support the development of a thriving circular economy in India’s fashion sector, aligned with both environmental goals and economic resilience.
Report Statement
The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the circular innovations landscape in India’s fashion and textile industry, highlighting both the progress and gaps, and presenting actionable pathways to stakeholders for fostering circularity.
Goals of the Report
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Map circular innovations across India’s fashion value chain
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Identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities
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Provide insights and recommendations to various stakeholders.
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Encourage collaboration across sectors to build a thriving circular fashion ecosystem in India.
Conclusion and Recommendations
India stands at a critical juncture where it can emerge as a global leader in circular fashion, thanks to its rich textile heritage, manufacturing strength, and emerging innovation ecosystem. While circular innovations are gaining momentum, systemic change requires coordinated efforts across the value chain. This report calls for increased funding and tailored support for startups, development of enabling policies and regulations, and substantial investment in waste management and recycling infrastructure. Moreover, raising awareness and building capacity among stakeholders—from producers to consumers—is essential for meaningful progress. To truly unlock the potential of circularity, collaboration across sectors must be prioritised, fostering innovation hubs and cross-industry partnerships that can scale impact and drive India’s transition toward a regenerative, resilient fashion ecosystem.
Relevant Resources
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.
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.
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.
Sort to Sustain
To address the gaps in post-consumer feedstock for the development of textile-to-textile recycling in India, FFG has initiated the Sort to Sustain (STS) Project, in line with the broader ambition of the Re-START Alliance. This project focuses on enhancing the quantity, quality, and price of feedstock to support the recycling industry. The project aims to establish a circular textiles system in India by creating a robust collection and sorting ecosystem for widespread recycling implementation. Leveraging insights from the Sorting for Circularity India project, it seeks to scale sorting and pre-processing infrastructure. The goal is to support the expansion of at least four waste enterprises and set up their Textile Recovery Facilities (TRFs) by 2030.
Other Reports
Wealth in Waste
This report is part of the “Sorting for Circularity: India” initiative led by Fashion for Good and its partners. It aims to explore the untapped potential of India’s textile waste industry to transition into a circular economy by identifying waste streams, analysing current practices, and suggesting pathways for systemic improvements across the value chain.
A Digital Traceability Platform Analysis
This report provides an in-depth analysis of digital traceability platforms, examining their role in enhancing transparency, compliance, and efficiency in various industries. It explores the technological advancements, regulatory requirements, and strategic benefits of implementing traceability solutions.
Scaling Next-Gen Materials In Fashion: An Executive Guide
Materials lie at the heart of the fashion industry. They account for 91% of the industry’s total emissions through their extraction, processing, and production, and around 30% of cost of goods sold (COGS). Next-generation materials present the opportunity to transform the industry’s environmental impact. However, many brands lack guidance and are unprepared for a material transition and how to drive adoption to unlock the benefits of these new materials. In this new report created by Boston Consulting Group and Fashion for Good, based on industry best practices and the successes of early movers, we provide brands with a structured framework to act on key levers and a pathway to address key challenges while driving measurable results.
