New Delhi, May 23, 2023 Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) in collaboration with Innovation Centre Denmark, Confederation of Danish Industries India office and the lifestyle and design cluster Denmark organized a day long workshop on barriers to sustainable sourcing and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) in New Delhi today.
Ms. Prajakta Verma Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Mr. Søren N Kannik – Marquardsen, Minister Counselleor, Embassy of Denmark, Ms. Marie Busck, Head of CSR & Sustainability, Danish Fashion & Textiles, Shri T Rajkumar, Chairman Confederation of Indian textile Industry, Dr. S Karthieyan, Deputy Executive Director, CII, Ms. Eshika Gombar, Head of Partnerships, Good Business Lab, Ms. Chandrima Chatterjee, Secretary General, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry were the distinguished panelists at the ESG awareness session.
Mr. Søren N Kannik – Marquardsen, Minister Counselor, Embassy of Denmark delivered the welcome address for the session and discussed the Green Strategic Partnership and its relevance to textile.
Ms. Marie Busck, Head of CSR & Sustainability, Danish Fashion & Textiles delivered a detailed presentation on the Future legislations impacting the textile and Fashion Industry like the EU textile strategy launched in 2022 where it is mandated that by 2030 all textile products in the EU would be free from Hazardous chemicals, durable, recyclable, and to a large extent be made from recycled fibres. She also hinted at many other important legislations that would have an impact on the textile and fashion industry worldwide.
Ms. Prajakta Verma – Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles highlighted various initiatives the Ministry of Textiles took on the sustainability and circular economy. She highlighted the projects like Lifestyle for Environment (Life)campaign, Kasturi Cotton, Quality Control Order (QCO), SURE Alliance etc in detail along with the impact that these initiatives had on the consciousness of the consumers.
Shri T Rajkumar, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry said that this workshop is aimed at understanding the Rationale and Requirement of having good practices in the Green Textile space which is important for long-term compliance to such requirements.
He remarked that the world today is producing and consuming more textiles than ever before and the current very low reuse and recycling rates mean that more textiles are also being thrown away than ever before. which has become an area of growing concern and recognition that there is a need of having some Environmental, Social, and Governance Commitments in the Textile Industry. This is also becoming a key priority for most of the business stakeholders of the world. ESG not only enhances the bottom line of businesses but also helps the textile industry build a great societal impact. He also said that Various global initiatives like the upcoming EU legislation, initiatives for developing Best Available Technology (BAT) which is a reference document in line with the EU BAT, UNIDO initiatives on Green Technology, highlight the growing relevance of steering technological innovation in this area. He concluded by saying that this is the right time for the Government and the Industry to evaluate our Sustainability systems and put in collaborative efforts for the capacity building and technological developments of the industry and CITI is committed to promoting ESG in Textile manufacturing open for collaboration with different associations across the globe for the transfer of existing Best practices.
Dr. S Karthieyan, Deputy Executive Director, CII delivered a detailed presentation on ‘GreenPro’ – An Indian Ecolabel in ESG Landscape. He stated that ‘GreenPro’ is an Indian Eco label that assesses How green is a product based on ‘Lifecycle’ approach on par with international standards. It also guides the manufacturers position their products as ‘Green’ and highlighted the way forward for achieving excellence in environmental performance. He also deliberated on the benefits of the Green Pro label for manufacturers as well as End Users. He concluded his presentation with the importance of reducing the carbon footprint where a holistic approach is needed. ‘GreenPro’ Ecolabel is a new initiative in India that facilitates Indian companies to further move forward and demonstrate their leadership in the ESG front.
Ms. Eshika Gombar, Head of Partnerships, Good Business Lab shared some results of the study done by Global Business Lab on the garment workers in India.
Ms. Namrata Rana, Futurescape talked on the state of preparedness of the industry for the Net Zero and the challenges before them in meeting it.
Ms. Chandrima Chatterjee, Secretary General, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry deliberated on the 6 priority areas for sustainability for the Indian textile sector. She elaborated on each priority area – Materials & Traceability, Climate, Chemicals, Sustainability Measurement, Innovation and Circularity and Engaging Consumers.
The event was held along the sidelines of a delegation visit by danish brands to some explore possibilities of sourcing sustainable textile products from India.
