India's Traditional Recycling System Finds New Groove to Tackle Modern Challenges

Could you talk at length about this from the kabaadi-waala and the buyer-seller of old clothes — everything door-to-door — to even those who take away old rugs, mats — anything fabric to re-spin into darees (rugs/floor mats), etc.?
Parvinder Singh: India’s traditional recycling ecosystem includes kabaadiwaalas (waste collectors), door-to-door buyers of old clothes, and those collecting old rugs and mats to re-spin into darees. This decentralised system works on a vast scale. Each layer of this ecosystem—from small collectors to large recyclers—plays a crucial role in extending the lifecycle of textile products through repair, reuse, and re-spinning. We have people making ropes of textiles waste, darees on handlooms from textiles scraps.

Many communities have developed specialised skills over generations. For example, old saris are turned into quilts (kantha work), while discarded cotton is repurposed into cleaning cloths or re-spun into yarn. These micro-enterprises sustain livelihoods while contributing to sustainability goals.

What kind of tweaking and technology do you think is needed to make this entire ecosystem work in an integrated manner? What kind of sensitisation and interventions will be required?
Parvinder Singh: Textile recycling thrives on resource efficiency. In an ideal system, products would be endlessly recycled into similar or better products. However, only 1% of apparel undergoes apparel-to-apparel recycling globally. The entire system needs an overhaul, including:

• Design: Clothing must be designed with recyclability in mind, using mono-fibres and sustainable materials.
• Production: Durability and responsible production should be prioritised.
• Sorting & disposal: Automated sorting needs to be evolved with recycling in mind.

Sensitisation programmes should focus on building awareness among brands, manufacturers, and consumers about responsible disposal and recycling. Policymakers should also introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandates.

Give me a sense of the formal recycling industry in India. What is the size of the imports of textile waste? Which countries does India import from majorly?
Parvinder Singh: India imports approximately 15,000 tonnes of post-industrial textile waste monthly, primarily from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Additionally, around 55,00,00 tonnes of post-consumer textile waste is imported from Europe and North America. The post-industrial waste is often easier to process due to its uniform quality, while post-consumer waste requires intensive sorting and cleaning before recycling.

What percentage of the imports go to thrift markets? How big is the thrift market in India?
Parvinder Singh: While the thrift market percentage remains relatively small, it has grown significantly in recent years due to increased consumer awareness. In Panipat alone, around 200,000 to 300,000 pieces of sorted clothing are sold across India daily. Urban thrift markets in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have also witnessed a surge, driven by younger consumers embracing sustainable fashion.

What are the challenges that the recycling industry faces — both at the government and private levels? How do you think these could be addressed?
Parvinder Singh: The recycling industry faces several challenges, including:

• Lack of industry standards: There are no specific standards to document recycling activities, resulting in inconsistent quality control.
• Policy gaps: Recycling facilities and products need to be incentivised based on sustainability.
• Infrastructure deficiency: Inadequate processing infrastructure hinders scalability.

Solutions:

• Create industry frameworks for sustainability certification.
• Offer tax incentives for recycling-based businesses.
• Develop industry-wide standards and policies that promote circularity.

Give me a sense of the technical know-how of Indian sorters, especially women. You had told me that a very expensive machine showed an error while a lady worker gave the almost exact spec on the percentage of the various mixed yarns.
Parvinder Singh: Knowledge is built over time through consistent practice and can fade without it. Indian women sorters have developed an unmatched expertise by working with massive volumes and various types of textile waste. Their skills in identifying fabric compositions are akin to real-life data processing and machine learning, far surpassing the capabilities of most modern machines. To preserve this knowledge, training programmes and skill documentation initiatives should be implemented. Also automated sorting at this stage is not efficient, scalable and competitive with these marvellous men and women in terms of accuracy, volumes and ROI.

What about polyester? How is it recycled? What usually happens to it at the end of its lifecycle?
Parvinder Singh: Currently polyester is primarily recycled into fibres and yarns from PET bottles (rPET). Unfortunately, commercial-scale textile-to-textile polyester recycling is still lacking. PET recycling can only be done once, merely delaying waste accumulation. At present, polyester textile waste is blended with cotton waste for home furnishings, though its growing production poses significant recycling challenges.

On a side note, could you give me your inputs on fabric manufacturers themselves using all the scrap that gets accumulated? Vishal Fabrics had said that they don't let anything go to waste. Scraps are used to make bags, etc.
Parvinder Singh: Fabric scraps generated during production come in two forms: fabric-end waste and cutting waste. Most fabric-end waste is repurposed, while cutting waste is recycled when economically viable. However, synthetic waste often ends up in landfills due to low market value and high transportation costs.