New Delhi, July 12 : More than 70 per cent of India’s total textile waste is currently recovered and channelled into recycling, upcycling, downcycling, or reuse as part of the circular economy, according to a government factsheet issued on Sunday.
A circular economy is an economic system where materials and resources are reused, recycled, and kept in use for longer. This helps reduce waste and emissions while promoting a more sustainable mode of production. Its core principle is to ensure circularity in the use of inputs.
In the textile sector, sustainability and circularity are important for reducing the adverse effects of the supply chain. The existing materials are reused without changing their basic structure. This lowers the use of energy, chemicals, and water, while reducing environmental impact.
Of the 7.8 million tonnes of textile waste managed annually, over 90 per cent is sourced from domestic pre-consumer (factory scrap) and post-consumer waste. Recovery is especially strong at the pre-consumer stage, where nearly 95 per cent of textile waste is collected and reused through established value-chain networks, as per the factsheet.
The spinning sector shows one of the clearest examples of closed-loop circularity. Nearly all spinning waste is reintegrated within production. Circularity is also visible in post-consumer textiles, with about 55 per cent of this waste diverted from landfills through India’s extensive collection and sorting network.
The factsheet highlights that this ecosystem supports nearly 40-45 lakh livelihoods, with women from marginalised communities playing a major role in collection, sorting, and redistribution. Within this scope, circular production is gaining momentum across the sector. India’s rich heritage of textile craftsmanship and resource-conscious production is receiving wider recognition, as global markets increasingly value products with a lower environmental footprint. (PTI)
