On 9th February, a team of Indian and Swedish experts from academia and industry will jointly organize a multi-stakeholder hybrid event on Textile Recycling. It will bring together an eminent group of representatives from the textile and clothing industry, including Indian and European fashion brands and recyclers, government and ministry delegations, and leading academicians to brainstorm and concretize clear pathways for valorizing Europe-India cross-border recycling value chain with a particular focus on mechanical recycling.
Globally less than 1% of the fibre produced for clothing are being recycled back into new fibres or for other high-value applications. The largest part of the Europe’s recycled textiles “waste” is mainly down-cycled for low-value uses currently. On the other hand, India is transforming into a major powerhouse of recycling, and is one of the largest recipients of global post-consumer textiles. Panipat is the largest hub for mechanical recycling of textiles with over 900 recycling units and 4 million informal workers processing textile waste. So in this context, “the scope for match-making is immense. Promoting the establishment and adoption of multi-stakeholder, cross-border value-chain, inclusive and responsive working mechanisms to develop systemic solutions and building public-private capacity, is the need of the hour to truly transform the textile circular economy”, says Dr. Rudrajeet Pal, Full Professor at Swedish School of Textiles, University of Borås – one of the main organizers of the event.
The event will have dedicated panel discussions on exploring textile recycling business potential and product market opportunities, technological breakthroughs and advancements in industry standards, highlight the necessary intermediations required from governmental and regulatory bodies, and finally weave out a radical pathway that needs to be adopted for developing such circular recycling ecosystem.
The event is non-academic yet pivots on a science-led, knowledge-driven approach with over 10 years of joint research and development by an eminent Swedish-Indian team from Swedish School of Textiles (University of Borås) and Linköping University in Sweden and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in India. Wazir Advisors and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries have also joined hand in supporting the event as crucial valorization and knowledge-exchange partners.
Varun Vaid, Business Director, Wazir Advisors noted “With major thrust on garment recycling in Europe, Indian stakeholders can position themselves as the right business partners for European counterparts. This event is a step towards aligning the businesses for future collaboration”.
Physical location of the event is at IIT Delhi campus. The event is partially funded by Swedish Research Council for the Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas) and Ikea Family Foundation.
