Parliament Question: Textile Recycling and Circular Economy

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3899 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2026 TEXTILE RECYCLING AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY 3899#. SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

(a) whether the Government has formulated any policy framework to promote textile recycling and the concept of a circular economy in the textile sector;

(b) If so, the details thereof;

(c) whether any incentives have been provided to industries adopting textile recycling technologies; and

(d) if so, the details thereof including the number of beneficiary units? उत्तर ANSWER वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री (श्री पबित्र मार्घरे रटा) THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA)

(a) to (d): The Government has undertaken several initiatives to promote textile recycling, adoption of recycling technologies and the transition towards a circular economy in the textile

sector: i) In the Union Budget 2026–27, the Hon'ble Finance Minister announced the „Tex-Eco Initiative‟ to promote a globally competitive and sustainable textiles and apparel sector. The initiative aims to support innovative technologies for the circular economy, including textile waste management, recycling and value addition, development of recycled fibres, new materials, sustainable packaging and other high-value products from discarded textiles, in collaboration with research institutions, Textile Research Associations, Centres of Excellence, industry, start- ups and other stakeholders.

ii) The Ministry of Textiles has undertaken a study titled “Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India”. The report estimates the generation of textile waste from pre-consumer sources such as manufacturing waste as well as post-consumer waste.

iii) The Government has also constituted an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Task Force to deliberate on sustainable production, certification and exports, besides facilitating industry-centric programmes such as Circular Samvaad and the Cluster Exchange Mechanism.

iv) The Government is also promoting textile recycling and sustainable manufacturing through policy support, research, innovation and capacity-building initiatives, including: The UNIDO-Global Environment Facility (GEF) project on eliminating hazardous chemicals from the textile fashion supply chain;

 The UNEP supported In-Tex India Project for Accelerating the Transition of the Indian Textile Sector towards Circularity using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF);  Support for environmentally sustainable research and development under the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM);

 Development of a sustainability framework for PM MITRA Parks; and  Promotion of upcycled products in Government procurement through an MoU among the Textiles Committee, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) and Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

These initiatives are sector-wide and are intended to facilitate technology adoption, research, innovation, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy practices across the textile value chain. ****