**Executive Summary**
The Union Minister of Textiles has released a report titled "Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India," which provides a comprehensive assessment of textile waste generation, recovery, and recycling. The report highlights that India generates 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually, with over 95% of pre-consumer waste being recovered. The textile recycling market is projected to reach USD 3.5 billion by 2030, creating approximately one lakh green jobs. The report was released on March 10, 2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Textile Waste Generation and Recovery**
* India generates approximately 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually.
* 42% of this waste originates from pre-consumer sources (manufacturing), and 58% from post-consumer disposal.
* Over 70% of total textile waste is currently recovered and processed through recycling, upcycling, downcycling, or reuse.
* Around 95% of pre-consumer textile waste is recovered, demonstrating strong recovery networks.
**Spinning Sector Performance**
* The spinning sector has achieved near 100% in-situ reintegration of its waste, setting a benchmark for circular production.
* Soft waste generated during spinning is reused immediately due to homogeneous waste streams, proximity to processing, and established quality standards.
**Post-Consumer Waste Management**
* Approximately 55% of India's post-consumer textile waste is diverted from landfills through an extensive informal collection and sorting network.
* This informal sector sustains around 40–45 lakh livelihoods, primarily involving women from marginalized communities.
**Recycling Hubs and Infrastructure**
* Panipat is emerging as a major hub for mechanical textile recycling, processing waste from various textile clusters.
* Developing recycling infrastructure at the cluster level within textile hubs can enhance efficiency and enable recycling closer to the source of waste generation.
**Market Projections and Technologies**
* India's textile recycling market is projected to reach USD 3.5 billion by 2030.
* This growth has the potential to create around one lakh new green jobs.
* Mechanical recycling is currently the most established pathway, while chemical recycling technologies are gaining traction for their ability to recover fibers at the molecular level and support textile-to-textile recycling.
**Ministry of Textiles' Commitment**
* The Ministry of Textiles is committed to promoting sustainable manufacturing, circular resource use, and innovation in recycling technologies.
* The report's findings are expected to support policy formulation, industry collaboration, and investments to strengthen India's position as a global hub for circular and sustainable textiles.
**Impact Analysis**
**Textile Industry Stakeholders**
* **Impact:** The report provides insights into waste generation, recovery pathways, and opportunities for strengthening circularity. It highlights the potential of the recycling market and green job creation.
* **Action Required:** Leverage the report's findings to align growth with sustainability goals, adopt practical pathways for recycling and resource recovery, and explore policy recommendations for strengthening the circular textile ecosystem.
**Informal Sector Workers**
* **Impact:** The report acknowledges the significant role of the informal sector in post-consumer waste management and its contribution to livelihoods.
* **Action Required:** The report's findings could inform initiatives aimed at supporting and formalizing this sector, potentially leading to improved working conditions and economic opportunities.
**Government and Policymakers**
* **Impact:** The report offers a data-driven blueprint and policy recommendations to transform textile waste into a valuable economic resource and promote circular production systems.
* **Action Required:** Utilize the report's findings to support policy formulation, industry collaboration, and investments that strengthen India's position in the global circular and sustainable textiles market.
**Investors**
* **Impact:** The report projects significant market growth and job creation potential within the textile recycling sector, indicating investment opportunities.
* **Action Required:** Consider investment in textile recycling technologies, infrastructure development, and related ventures based on the market projections and technological trends highlighted in the report.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Textiles: The government ministry responsible for the textile sector in India and the issuer of the report.
Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India: The specific report released by the Union Minister of Textiles, which is the primary subject of the policy discussion.
Panipat: Identified as a major hub for mechanical textile recycling, highlighting its specific importance within the policy's scope.
Giriraj Singh: The Union Minister of Textiles who released the report and made statements regarding its findings and implications.
Ministry of Textiles
Union Minister of Textiles releases Report on
Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India
India generates 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually;
over 95% of pre-consumer textile waste recovered
Spinning sector achieves near 100% in-situ reintegration,
establishing benchmark for circular production
India’s textile recycling market projected to reach USD 3.5
billion by 2030 with potential to create nearly one lakh green
jobs
Posted On: 10 MAR 2026 6:53PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Textiles Shri Giriraj Singh today released the report titled “Mapping of Textile Waste
Value Chain in India” at an event held at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi. The report provides a
comprehensive assessment of textile waste generation, recovery pathways, recycling technologies and
opportunities to strengthen circularity across India’s textile value chain.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said that India’s textile sector, one of the largest in the
world, has significant potential to lead the global transition towards sustainable and circular production
systems.Shri Giriraj Singh stated that India’s textile industry continues to expand rapidly and it is important that
this growth is aligned with sustainability goals. He noted that the report provides a data-driven blueprint
for transforming textile waste into a valuable economic resource and highlights practical pathways for
recycling, upcycling and resource recovery.
The study maps both pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste streams, identifies recycling practices
across clusters, documents emerging technologies and outlines policy recommendations to strengthen
India’s circular textile ecosystem.
The report estimates that India generates approximately 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste annually. Of
this, 42 per cent originates from pre-consumer sources such as manufacturing waste, while 58 per cent
arises from post-consumer disposal. More than 70 per cent of the total textile waste is currently
recovered and routed into recycling, upcycling, downcycling or reuse streams. The findings further
indicate that around 95 per cent of pre-consumer textile waste is recovered, reflecting the strength of
recovery networks across the value chain.
The report highlights that the spinning sector has established a benchmark for closed-loop operations,
with nearly 100 per cent of spinning waste reintegrated in situ into production. Soft waste generated
during spinning is immediately reused within the same process due to homogeneous waste streams,
proximity between generation and processing and established quality standards for recycled inputs.
The analysis also notes that about 55 per cent of India’s post-consumer textile waste is diverted from
landfills, largely through an extensive informal collection and sorting network. This ecosystem sustains
around 40–45 lakh livelihoods, predominantly women from marginalised communities engaged in the
collection, sorting and redistribution of used textiles.
Cluster analysis shows that Panipat is emerging as a major hub for mechanical textile recycling, with
waste from several textile clusters transported there for processing. The report notes that developing
recycling infrastructure at the cluster level across textile hubs could significantly improve efficiency and
enable recycling closer to the source of waste generation.
The report further projects that India’s textile recycling market could reach USD 3.5 billion by 2030,
with the potential to generate around one lakh new green jobs. Mechanical recycling currently
represents the most established pathway for textile recycling, while chemical recycling technologies are
gaining traction for their ability to recover fibres at the molecular level and support textile-to-textile
recycling.
The Ministry of Textiles reiterated its commitment to promoting sustainable manufacturing practices,
circular resource use and innovation in recycling technologies. The findings of the report are expected to
support policy formulation, industry collaboration and investments aimed at strengthening India’s position
as a global hub for circular and sustainable textiles.
The report is available on the website of the Ministry of Textiles (http://texmin.gov.in/).
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