It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable
texfash.com
TOP STORY
Managing Waste / India Project

7 October 2026

 8 minutes

Lessons from Ghana, the Netherlands and Germany Will Be Tested against Indian Waste

Solutions that work in one region rarely travel unchanged, and each pilot begins by responding to the waste, climate and systems of the place it serves.

Much of India's textile waste is too mixed or contaminated to resell, reuse or recycle. Asha Singhal, Director, Nature of Fashion at The Biomimicry Institute, explains what the fourth Nature of Fashion pilot will target, what India can take from earlier work in Ghana, the Netherlands and Germany, and why local conditions must shape the technologies tested.

  • Subir Ghosh
 Interview
Latest: Updates
Other Top Stories
Recycling Crisis / India Project Interview
A job earns that description only when it keeps people safe, pays them fairly and reliably, and opens a path towards greater economic security for their households.

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

  • Subir Ghosh

6 October 2026
Functional Fabrics / Wellness Interview
A new kind of clothing earns its place only when buyers can see a real use, consistent performance and proof that matches what the label promises.

From Laboratory Swatch to Finished Garment, the Promise Must Hold at Every Stitch

  • Subir Ghosh

5 October 2026
 
ITMA 2027
CIRCULARITY / RECYCLING / SECONDS / WASTE
Each new collection triggers the emissions-heavy stages of yarn spinning, fabric knitting and chemical dyeing, and rapid style turnover multiplies those stages faster than material efficiency can absorb.

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.

Subir Ghosh
The convergence of textile and electronic waste streams creates a category of refuse that neither industry can process cleanly, exposing gaps in regulation, disposal and material recovery.

The Coming Age of Smart Garments Demands a New Waste Doctrine

  • Ian Williams
  • Christina Webb
  • Stephen Beeby
 Commentary

26 August 2026
Distinctiveness has a ceiling that few briefs account for, and understanding where that ceiling sits matters more than chasing novelty without any restraint.

The Design Instinct Upcycled Fashion Brands Need to Unlearn

  • Special Correspondent
 Analysis

30 June 2026
 
FLASHPOINT: CLIMATE
Handmade India / Dokha Story
A tradition kept exactly as it was can survive in archives, but one allowed to change its form can remain part of how people dress and earn.

A Himalayan Winter Garment Sheds Its Wool and Finds a New Life

  • Tapan Sharma
 First Person

30 September 2026

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
The funding signals a research-led push to make alternative materials commercially usable, not merely experimental answers to fashion’s environmental footprint or laboratory curiosity.

The Race to Reinvent What We Wear Gets $34 Million from Bezos Earth Fund

  • Staff Writer
 Update

27 April 2026

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.

 
COLUMNS
 

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

IIP: Index of Industrial Production

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

Next: September 2026 data, due 28 Oct 2026

CPI: Consumer Price Index

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

Next: September 2026 data, due 12 Oct 2026

WPI: Wholesale Price Index

Base 2022-23 · All India
August 2026 Provisional
Index YoY
Textiles 104.3 12.63%
Apparel 112.4 3.12%
All commodities 110.8 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 7 Oct 2026
Top gainers Supertex Industries Ltd +17.76% Virat Industries Ltd +9.99% Bluechip Tex Industries Ltd +8.34%
Top losers Vama Wovenfab Ltd -19.99% Panchatv Bharat Ltd -19.96% Modern Threads (I) Ltd -7.72%
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 →
 
Gone with the Seam
EXCLUSIVES
 
FOCUS: COTTON
Translating sustainability ambitions into practical tools and shared knowledge is what allows smallholder farmers and manufacturers to keep pace with growing environmental and sustainability requirements across the value chain.

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.

Staff Writer
 
 
SPOTLIGHT ARTICLES: MOST READ
 
SPOTLIGHT EDITIONS: SELECT 4
 

Highlights: Sea Change

"Quote Unquote"

Asha Singhal
Asha Singhal
Director, Nature of Fashion
Biomimicry Institute
The questions most worth revisiting for India are less about biology and more about context. Waste composition, climate, infrastructure and processing systems here differ from the Netherlands, Berlin or Accra, and adapting technologies to those conditions, rather than importing a fixed model, is the accelerator's starting point.
MORE: Lessons from Ghana, the Netherlands and Germany Will Be Tested against Indian Waste

"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.
MORE: Circularity Without Decay Is Fashion Pretending Nature Doesn't Matter
 
 
FOCUS: LEATHER
The new organisational structure is completed by a strongly product- and project-oriented operational model, with three event managers.

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.

Staff Writer
Lineapelle 2025 demonstrated that the industry is ready to communicate in a different way. The collaboration between UNIC, Lineapelle, La Conceria, Is It Leather?, and voices like Volkan’s marks the beginning of a more open, consumer-connected era. But collaboration must extend to influencers, educators, and storytellers, people who can speak the language of the next generation of consumers.

The Power of Storytelling, Community and Leather’s Next Chapter

  • Blake Garavaglia
 Commentary

14 October 2025
 
ATTENTION: DENIM
 
COMPANY NEWS / PRESS RELEASES
 
 
Young India Fashion Survey 2025