India's textile sector battles mounting waste, sustainability gap

Lack of circular approach to used and unsold clothes poses new problems to Indian industry as global buyers tighten waste norms

New Delhi: Bharati Shree (name changed), a resident of Ghaziabad, Delhi NCR, wanted to dispose of some old clothes. She unsuccessfully tried some apps and street vendors before finally dumping them in the garbage bin.

Like Bharati, a majority of Indians discard their used clothes which eventually end up in landfills and remain there for years. Post-consumer textile waste constitutes over 50 per cent of around 78 lakh tonnes of textile waste generated in India annually. Less than half of these wastes are repaired, reused or put through high-grade recycling.

Textile waste is the third-largest contributor to municipal solid waste in the country, as per a recent report by Bengaluru-based think-tank Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).

“While a significant share is reused or recycled through both formal and informal channels, it is important to strengthen organised collection systems,” said Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel.

He noted that India generates around 8 per cent of global textile waste. “This includes waste from manufacturing as well as discarded garments from consumers.”

The issue is not just about managing domestic waste. India is a leading importer of post-consumer textile wastes. Of the total textile waste generated annually in the country, domestic post-consumer accounts for 51 per cent, pre-consumer 42 per cent, and imported post-consumer 7 per cent, as per ‘The State of Textile Waste in India’ report by Fashion for Good, a global platform for sustainable fashion innovation.

Global problem

Cutting across borders, textile waste has turned into a critical global challenge. Around 120 million metric tonnes of clothing were discarded worldwide in 2024, as per a report released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in August last year. These discarded clothing are enough to fill more than 200 Olympic stadiums. As global apparel production steadily increases, so does the mountain of clothing sent to landfills, burned in incinerators or shipped overseas.

Each year, textile waste worth an estimated $150 billion in raw materials value is lost—resources that are extracted, processed and then quickly discarded, BCG noted in its report.

“Recovering even a quarter of these wasted resources could offset the combined annual materials expenditures of the world’s 30 largest fashion companies. The environmental and economic case is clear: reducing textile waste would conserve valuable resources and minimise environmental and social impact,” the report added.

In high-income countries, discarded garments that cannot be resold domestically are often exported to developing nations for resale. Those that remain unsold there too end up in open landfills in the recipient countries, creating vast and highly visible waste dumps.

A substantial amount of textile waste from the United States and Europe are exported to India. Panipat in Haryana, located nearly 90 km north of the national capital, is Asia’s largest textile and recycling hub. Panipat is central to processing, where imported clothes are sorted, recycled and repurposed into new garments or blankets.

Faced with the mounting challenge of unsold textiles, the European Union (EU) has decided to ban their destruction, effective from July 2026. The European Commission announced new measures in this regard on February 9 under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). It seeks to prevent the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear.

Every year in Europe, an estimated 4-9 per cent of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. This waste generates around 5.6 million tons of CO2 emissions – almost equal to Sweden’s total net emissions in 2021, as per a news article posted on the European Commission website.

The ban on destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear and the derogations will apply to large companies from July 19, 2026. Medium-sized companies are expected to follow suit from 2030.

"Instead of discarding stock, companies are encouraged to manage their stock more effectively, handle returns, and explore alternatives such as resale, remanufacturing, donations, or reuse," the EU Commission said.

India is among the major suppliers of clothes to Europe. The EU’s ban on destruction of unsold items is likely to have a significant impact on the Indian textiles and footwear industry.

K M Subramanian, President of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA), said the EU buyers are likely to seek suppliers’ cooperation in complying with the ban.

Tiruppur is India's premier knitwear export hub. The European market accounts for 30-35 per cent of the exports from this Tamil Nadu town.

"Order quantities may be reduced, and they may ask for split deliveries. But as a cluster, we are prepared for any eventuality. There may be some initial problems, but we believe these will be addressed. We also expect buyers to handle the issue without disrupting the supply chain," Subramanian said.

Some exporters said the EU ban on the destruction of unsold clothing would encourage handling excess stock responsibly rather than destroying it, prompting brands to reduce overproduction and demand better inventory management from suppliers. This could increase demand for recycled fibres and sustainable materials, potentially boosting investments in India’s textile recycling sector. Indian firms will need enhanced capabilities in reverse logistics and inventory management, such as eco-friendly storage to prevent degradation of unsold stocks.

Recycling in Bengaluru

Despite Bengaluru producing nearly 20 per cent of India’s garments—and a corresponding volume of pre-consumer waste— neither the Karnataka government nor other civic bodies has come up with any structured system here to manage waste. Instead, the unregulated and unauthorised sector largely handles the industry’s solid waste.

A study by the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru, estimates that the city produces nearly 5,000 tonnes of fabric waste annually, accounting for about 4 per cent of its total solid waste.

The report notes that large, export-oriented industries have structured waste management systems with formal agreements with certified waste aggregators, ensuring segregation and recycling or reuse. In contrast, smaller and tailoring units lacking formal systems often rely on informal vendors or dispose of waste through the civic body.

Girish, who runs a dyeing unit at a textile park in Bengaluru, said a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the park has not been functional for the past 20 years. "There are over 400 small and medium-sized dyeing and washing units inside the industrial park. Most cannot afford to set up individual effluent treatment plants (ETPs). The government had promised to improve the CETP, but it has remained non-functional for two decades,” he said. The lack of treatment has resulted in groundwater contamination in surrounding areas.

Surat's waste problem

The situation is not much different in Gujarat's Surat, which is considered the second-largest textile manufacturing hub in India after Tiruppur. With nearly 400 textile dyeing and printing units spread across the city, it produces around 40 per cent of the country’s synthetic fabric, in addition to cotton and silk materials.

While chemical waste disposal falls under the jurisdiction of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), the scientific disposal of textile waste, locally known as chindi, is still not practised by all units.

A document by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) defines textile or chindi waste as "unusable cloth waste generated from textile manufacturing, storage, wholesale and retail trade of all types of textiles, including end products or intermediate products that are not useful and are generated as waste".

According to industry sources, such waste accounts for nearly 10 per cent of the total waste collected in Surat city.

"As far as chindi waste is concerned, it is either discarded or burned in boilers as fuel, which pollutes the city. The corporation is trying to recycle this waste, but much more needs to be done because the focus remains on industrial effluents dumped into the sea and rivers," said an industrialist, requesting anonymity.

"Chindi waste is equally harmful to the city. It is dumped on open land, in landfills, or burned. There have been several instances of fires caused by the haphazard dumping of chindi waste in the city," the above-mentioned industrialist remarked.

Raghunath Mannil Balakrishnan, CEO, Mafatlal Industries Limited based in Gujarat, said his company has developed a structured approach to waste management that includes operational practices and external partnerships.

Key challenges

Key challenges in textile waste management include collection and sorting, recycling issues, economic barriers, and the high costs of advanced recycling technologies. Retailers are primarily responsible for destroying unsold clothing, while buyers have little involvement.

Recycling of post-consumer textile waste is challenging due to variability in colour and fibre blend. The quality of clothing produced by recycling post-consumer textiles is inferior compared to that of virgin textiles due to loss in fibre strength and reduction in fibre length during mechanical recycling.

A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, recently claimed that it has developed a method to recycle denim waste to knitted garments without compromising quality. The team led by professors Abhijit Majumdar and B S Butola in the Textile and Fibre Engineering department of the IIT claimed that up to 50 per cent of recycled yarns can be used in knitted clothing without deteriorating the feel of the product.

AEPC Chairman Sakthivel said the garment industry primarily manages waste through segregation and recycling of production scraps such as fabric offcuts and yarn waste. "A substantial portion of pre-consumer waste is mechanically recycled into yarn, filling material, or lower-grade textile products," he said 

Many manufacturers are also improving cutting efficiency and adopting lean production techniques to minimise waste generation. However, structured systems for collecting and recycling post-consumer textile waste are still developing, he added.

Globally, several countries have implemented Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, mandatory textile collection systems, and investing in advanced fibre-to-fibre recycling technologies.

The European Union, in particular, is moving towards structured take-back mechanisms for textiles. India has a long-standing recycling ecosystem and strong mechanical recycling capacity, but large-scale post-consumer collection systems and advanced recycling technologies are still evolving, said Sakthivel.

As per National Account Statistics, 2025, the average share of textile and apparel industry is approximately 2 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 11 per cent of manufacturing gross value added (GVA) during the last three years. The sector provides direct employment to more than 4.5 crore, the second largest employer after agriculture.

Fast fashion-driven consumption has led to a surge in textile waste generation at both production and disposal levels. While India is one of the world leaders in mechanical recycling, it has not yet established a circular approach for textile waste.

The concept of circularity advocates for a regenerative system wherein textile is used as long as it retains its value and is recycled to its full potential within the textile industry, minimising leakage, waste and pollution. To date, the value chain remains largely unorganised with limited visibility, leading to leakage of waste at multiple levels. The need of the hour is to develop a robust circular system to curb this critical environmental challenge.

(With inputs from E T B Sivapriyan in Chennai, Pavan Kumar H in Hubballi and Satish Jha in Ahmedabad)