TOP STORY

New Waste Technologies Must Work alongside Informal Collectors Rather than Replace Them

India generates an estimated 7.8 million tonnes of textile waste a year, and much of the low-value, mixed or contaminated fraction has no commercially viable end-of-life pathway. Shruti Goel, Chief Executive Officer of Upaya Social Ventures, explains how a new accelerator run with The Biomimicry Institute will support decomposition enterprises while tying their growth to dignified, verifiable employment.

Other Top Stories
 
CIRCULARITY / RECYCLING / SECONDS / WASTE

Recycling Cannot Repair What the Production Phase Has Already Locked In

The environmental debate around fast fashion has long turned on a single question: cotton or polyester, which is greener. A comprehensive lifecycle assessment now suggests the question itself was misplaced. Tracing garments from raw material through disposal, the research finds transport mode and garment lifespan reshape emissions by margins that no fibre substitution can match.

 
FLASHPOINT: CLIMATE
Handmade India / Dokha Story

Traditional garments across India carry knowledge of materials, construction, climate and local identity, yet many have not been explored for contemporary markets. The Weavers' Service Centre, Chamoli, has tested one approach with Uttarakhand's Dokha, a heavy woollen winter garment. Its lighter, shorter cotton version has since passed through field training to weavers, and commercial production has begun in Khatima.

Material Innovation / Bezos Fund

Breakthrough textile materials have received $34 million in new Bezos Earth Fund grants, backing research into bacterial fibres, spider-silk-inspired biodegradable materials, coloured cotton and cotton seedbank restoration. The funding targets materials that can match rayon, silk and cotton while improving cost, performance and environmental outcomes across fashion and textile supply chains.

 
 

India Barometer: Textiles & Apparel (IIP, CPI, WPI)

IIP: Index of Industrial Production

Base 2022-23 · All India
August 2026 Quick estimate
Series Index YoY
Textiles 136.9 up 13.1%
Apparel 89.0 down 7.4%

Next: September 2026 data, due 28 Oct 2026

CPI: Consumer Price Index

Base 2024 · All India, combined
August 2026 Provisional
Series Index YoY
Clothing 109.48 up 3.93%
Footwear 105.40 up 1.12%
Household textiles 107.51 up 3.20%

Next: September 2026 data, due 12 Oct 2026

WPI: Wholesale Price Index

Base 2022-23 · All India
August 2026 Provisional
Series Index YoY
Textiles 104.3 up 12.63%
Apparel 112.4 up 3.12%
All commodities 110.8 up 9.92%

Next: September 2026 data, due 14 Oct 2026

Visit India Barometer

 
Stock Tracker: India Textiles & Fashion 361 listed companies tracked · prices as of 6 Oct 2026
Top gainers Trent Ltd +12.64% Spunweb Nonwoven Ltd +12.01% Titaanium Ten Enterprise Ltd +9.98%
Top losers Panchatv Bharat Ltd -19.97% Supertex Industries Ltd -14.36% Vinod Texworld Ltd -9.93%
View the Stock Tracker →
 
Trade Tracker: Global Textiles WTO figures for 2024 · every economy since 1980 · Tables A22 and A23 since 1981 Top textile exporters, 2024 1. China 42.9% 2. European Union 20.4% 3. India 5.7% Top clothing exporters, 2024 1. European Union 30.1% 2. China 30.0% 3. Bangladesh 7.0% India: No. 3 in textiles exports, No. 6 in clothing exports View the Trade Tracker →
 
 
FOCUS: COTTON

SWITCH-Asia Project Ends With 36 Sourcing Commitments and 50,000 Young Consumers Engaged Across India

A four-year European Union-funded project coordinated by Fairtrade International has concluded after reaching more than 9,500 cotton farmers and 700 textile manufacturers across India, with a primary focus on Tamil Nadu. The initiative delivered digital sustainability tools, capacity-building programmes, and market links between Indian suppliers and European buyers.

 
 
 
SPOTLIGHT EDITIONS: SELECT 4
 

"Quote Unquote"

Shruti Goel
Shruti Goel
Chief Executive Officer
Upaya Social Ventures
The ultimate test for these innovators will come at scale. We maintain the firm position that a technology is not successfully commercialised if its business model relies on transferring occupational risk to poorly protected or underpaid workers. Livelihood dignity and operational safety must be built into the core economics of the enterprise, ensuring that the technology's success is inseparable from the well-being of its workforce.

"Quote Unquote"

Asha Singhal
Asha Singhal
Director, Nature of Fashion
Biomimicry Institute
The industry is reaching a reckoning around the global challenge of waste that results from the current take-make-waste model. But biologically, the answer to this problem is already there. Every material that has ever existed in a functioning ecosystem was broken down and reassembled into something else. Decomposition is not an endpoint. It is the mechanism through which matter becomes available for the next cycle.
 
 
FOCUS: LEATHER

Major Reorganisation Positions Fierecongressi as a More Competitive Force in Global Exhibition Markets

A major internal reorganisation, aligned with a growth strategy and a substantial infrastructure investment programme, has reshaped Fierecongressi's operational model. The restructuring establishes a dedicated Internationalisation Area, merges two business units into a single Fairs Business Unit, and introduces a product-oriented structure to strengthen the company's competitive position in the global exhibition and congress market.