India’s textile recycling market could grow to an estimated US $3.5 billion by 2030, potentially generating around one lakh green jobs, according to a new report released on Tuesday by Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh.
The report, titled Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India, presents a detailed assessment of textile waste generation in the country, alongside existing recovery pathways, recycling technologies and opportunities to strengthen circularity across the textile value chain.
The study analyses both pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste streams, identifies recycling practices across major clusters, documents emerging technologies and outlines policy recommendations aimed at strengthening India’s circular textile ecosystem.
According to the report, India generates approximately 70.73 lakh tonnes of textile waste each year. Of this total, around 42% originates from pre-consumer sources, including manufacturing waste, while 58% arises from post-consumer disposal.
Cluster-level analysis indicates that Panipat has emerged as a major hub for mechanical textile recycling, with waste from multiple textile clusters transported there for processing. The report notes that developing recycling infrastructure across textile hubs could significantly improve efficiency by enabling recycling closer to the source of waste generation.
The findings suggest that more than 70% of the country’s textile waste is currently recovered and redirected into recycling, upcycling, downcycling or reuse streams. Recovery rates are particularly high for pre-consumer waste, with the report estimating that about 95% is recovered, reflecting strong recovery networks within the textile value chain.
The spinning sector was highlighted as a leading example of closed-loop operations. The report notes that nearly 100% of spinning waste is reintegrated into production processes. Soft waste generated during spinning is typically reused immediately within the same manufacturing process due to the homogeneity of waste streams, proximity between waste generation and processing, and established quality standards for recycled inputs.
The analysis further states that around 55% of India’s post-consumer textile waste is diverted from landfills, largely due to an extensive informal collection and sorting network operating across the country.
This informal ecosystem currently sustains between 40 and 45 lakh livelihoods, with a large proportion of workers being women from marginalised communities engaged in the collection, sorting and redistribution of used textiles.
