Sustainable roots for India’s textile leadership

Challenges in Global Presence

• The Indian textile industry faces challenges due to geopolitical tensions, fragmented supply chains, and product price volatility.

• Climate change and evolving consumer demands also influence business decisions.

Sustainable Practices for Market Competitive Edge

• Businesses should explore beyond financial goals, focusing on adaptability, purpose-led innovation, and resilience.

• For India to establish its global trade authority, cultivation, sourcing, and manufacturing practices must be re-examined with a sustainable lens.

Concepts for Sustainable Manufacturing

• Regenerative farming, traceability solutions, and product circularity are becoming operational standards and core manufacturing actions.

• Adopting these practices could help the textile industry strengthen its leadership and emerge as an important player in the China Plus One strategy.

Regenerative Farming

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is considering over one million hectares of farmland for further pilot projects.

• Farmers are equipped with digital resource-based training on regen farming practices.

• Real-time data sharing is enabled for growth tracking and transparency.

Traceability Solutions

• Robust AI and tech-driven traceability solutions are the next big strategies for the Indian textile sector.

• India’s branding initiatives, such as Kasturi Cotton, strengthen the case of traceability, transparency, and quality benchmarking globally.

Product Circularity

• India generates 8.5% of the world’s annual textile waste.

• The Indian textile industry’s vision is to embrace product circularity and sustainability practices.

• Factory waste can be reengineered for newer designs and returned to the soil after a longer product lifecycle.

Growing Towards

• The textile industry is projected to grow to $350 billion by 2030 and could add 35 million new jobs if aligned with climate goals and tech-driven innovations.

• Strategic decisions made today will help India’s global leadership for a sustainable, future-proof, and resilient textile economy.