India is stepping up its focus on sustainability and waste management as environmental requirements tighten across major consumer markets. The Indian government has approved a revised version of its solid waste management regulations, which will come into force on April 1 and are expected to have a significant impact on the textile and apparel industry.
The updated regulation, notified on 27th January, marks a shift in responsibility for waste management from municipal authorities to large producers and industrial parks. This includes garment factories, textile parks, and large manufacturing complexes. The objective is to establish more auditable systems for waste segregation and disposal, aligning domestic practices more closely with the expectations of European and US buyers.
A key provision of the new rules is the mandatory segregation of waste into four categories—organic, dry, sanitary, and special treatment—with disposal required through authorised waste management agencies. Facilities exceeding specified thresholds in terms of land area or waste generation will be required to assume direct responsibility for waste handling. While distances and logistics differ, the approach introduces a framework similar to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which remains at an early stage in India and is based on the polluter-pays principle.
The regulations also strengthen the waste hierarchy and impose tighter limits on landfilling. Non-recyclable waste with high calorific value must be diverted to energy recovery processes or converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This requirement is expected to affect large textile clusters that rely on solid fuel boilers and will necessitate additional investment in infrastructure, monitoring, and compliance systems.
The regulatory shift comes at a critical time for India’s positioning in global supply chains. In the European Union, sustainability, traceability, and supply chain due diligence are becoming increasingly central to trade policy and legislation, making stronger environmental compliance a reputational advantage for Indian exporters.
In the near term, industry participants anticipate higher compliance costs and the need for greater operational discipline, including upgrades to infrastructure, workforce training, and reporting mechanisms. Over the medium to long term, however, the reforms are seen as strengthening India’s credentials as a sourcing destination aligned with European standards and laying the groundwork for a future domestic EPR framework, which will be essential for competing in an increasingly regulated global market.
