While bringing awareness among various stakeholders regarding the significance of a circular economy is crucial, it is also a time to act on the implementation and challenges associated with it. The textile industry in India has been widely established over the decades, with well-known conventional procedures for various operations put in place. So, when the circular economy principles are taken to the application level, there are certain challenges to overcome at the ground level. It is difficult to implement any new model and overhaul the existing practices. Hence, the key here is to utilize all the existing opportunities in all the operations where there is an ease of applying a circular principle at greater levels and adapting them to circularity.

The textile industry is fragmented in nature as it requires several operations, ranging from raw material procurement and processing to dyeing, printing, and finishing, to be carried out to obtain the finished product. So, the widely discussed solution for circular textiles, extended producer responsibility over the downstream processing of the supply chain, is certainly not the only solution that would serve the purpose. Though it plays a critical role in closing the loop, innovation is needed at diverse operations involved in the textile industry to mainstream the circular economy.

The initial step is to figure out the key operations to be dealt with when the principles are applied. Then, utilizing the opportunities in each operation, alterations have to be introduced that would facilitate the circularity. CAIF has identified five main operations in the textile industry across the upstream and downstream supply chains: Raw material procurement; processing, dyeing, and finishing; cut-make-trim; retail and use; end-of-use.

Raw Materials

For the successful implementation of a circular economy, the circular value must be added at the design stage itself. Raw materials with low embodied energy must be chosen, designed to eliminate waste and pollution, and are expected to hold the quality as long as possible along the cascades. Polyester and cotton account for the majority of the fibers used in India, which are widely known to have huge environmental impacts. As the challenges associated with cotton production in terms of water consumption and emissions increase, sustainable alternatives such as stinging nettles, lotus stems, hemp, banana fiber, and agricultural waste are slowly gaining traction. At the same time, man-made cellulosic fibers also possess the quality of circularity, but at the cost of slaying down many trees. Many MMCF producers in India are being progressive by following sustainable forestry practices by planting twice the number of trees than they are cutting down, thereby creating a positive ecological impact. Canopy, an initiative for sustainable production of MMCF, engages with 85% of the producers, ensuring a carbon neutral and ecologically positive impact. Innovative solutions in the production of animal-based fibers, such as water-based silk solutions for the mechanical extrusion of fibers, minimize the use of water and energy. Spintex, a UK-based textile company, produces the highest quality silk with the application of this technology, enabling the efficient and sustainable production of silk filaments.

Processing, Dyeing, and Finishing

Pretreatment, modern synthetic dyeing, finishing treatments, and wet processing are pretty effective, but they are also heavily polluting by means of contaminating water, resisting biodegradation, hazardous chemicals, and hazardous toxic waste. They also account for affecting human health as only a very small number of the chemicals that are in use have gone through screening for human health. One of the sustainable approaches for pretreatment and finishing processes is plasma, an ionized gas form. When applied to a material, it activates the surface, removes impurities, and deposits a coating with no application of water and effluents and less use of chemicals and energy. Ultrasonic treatment is another sustainable way of removing impurities, dyeing, and finishing a textile. This process significantly reduces the amount of water, dye, and chemicals. Sasmira Institute of Man-Made Textiles obtained a patent for waterless dyeing technology called supercritical CO2, which results in the reduced use of chemicals and eliminates the use of water. A few other sustainable processes that are slowly innovating and getting to the application stage in India are spray dyeing and finishing, digital printing, and plant-based dyes and pigments.

Cut-make-trim

The innovations in the area of cut-make-trim are still in the nascent stages in India. Focusing on eliminating waste at the cutting stage would have an opportunity for regeneration as well. Additive manufacturing, consisting of processes like 3D printing and 3D knitting, helps to minimize stock by product customization. Customer returns can also be declined with this technology, which in turn contributes to lessening the global carbon footprint. Unspun is one such fashion technology company, contributing to a 24% lower carbon footprint compared with conventional practices. Zero waste manufacturing is another significant sustainable approach, which aims to design the fabric with no waste at all. Defining the alternative uses for the textile at the design stage is a crucial aspect of this process. Mass customization is a widely known innovation in India in the area of cut-make-trim. eShakti, a mass customization retailer, provides women with the option of customizing their clothes according to their tastes and needs. Automation and optimized yarn and fabric construction are a few other sustainable methods in this operation, which are finding their way through research and application.

Retail and Use

The environmental impacts of retail and use are not tangible. They can be understood by measuring the impacts when the clothes are reused, recycled, and remanufactured. Implementing circular business models enables this scenario. CAIF has proposed three categories of circular businesses. Re-commerce platforms allow consumers to buy used garments of the highest quality from a brand, licensed platform, or another consumer. Rework makes contemporary designs using the abundance of stock by tweaking, deconstructing, and resewing clothing. Rental platforms provide consumers an option to rent garments for occasions or monthly, with a wide range of choices for customers and simultaneously extend the clothes' life.

End-of-use

This is one of the major steps of the process as it plays a critical role in closing the loop. The initial player in this process is the consumer. The awareness programs and incentives would help to bring the used materials into the loop, preventing them from ending up in landfills. The effective recycling and remanufacturing processes would then make the used clothes turn into new materials. Usha Yarns, a Chandigarh-based recycling service in India, makes recycled yarn made out of pre-consumer cotton waste and post-consumer polyester waste. Research on innovative solutions in sorting and mechanical and chemical recycling is widely taking place in the country.

These innovative solutions should be accompanied by effective supply chain management to mainstream the circular economy. The interactions among stakeholders of these processes and the integration of certain activities along the supply chain are crucial for the implementation. 

Initially, this research attempts to fill the knowledge gap surrounding circular textiles in India. Integration of all these solutions into various operations would develop a working model for circularity. The application of these solutions enables circularity by means of regeneration, as they help to reduce water usage, hazardous substances, toxic waste, hazardous chemicals, and carbon footprint, and completely prevent the used clothes from going to landfills. They encourage consumers to purchase used garments of good quality and rent and reuse textiles.

Image Credit: https://fashionforgood.com/our_news/report-launch-fashion-innovation-landscape-in-india/