Textile Circularity - A Decade of Experiments and Experiences at Meemansa

The textile industry is a paradox: it is a generator of beauty, culture, and livelihoods - yet also one of the most resource-intensive and waste-producing sectors in the world.

- By Manish Kothari, Co-Founder, Meemansa

I. Introduction

India, with its deep textile traditions and massive industrial base, sits at the heart of this paradox.

Circularity in textiles is not only about recycling garments at the end of life. It is about re-imagining the fabric value chain from its very beginning: how fibres are sourced, how fabrics are designed and cut, how garments are made and distributed, and ultimately, how they are used, reused, and disposed of.

At Meemansa, for over a decade, we have worked to embed upcycling, zero waste, and inclusivity into this value chain. Partnering with Rhino Machines, we have combined design ingenuity, engineering capabilities, and community partnerships to explore how waste can be transformed into value.

Types of Fabrics in the Waste Stream

Different fibres behave differently in their lifecycle, making the recycling of textiles particularly complex compared to other waste streams like plastics. The fabrics in today's textile waste can be broadly classified as:

This diversity shows why textile recycling is considered harder than plastic recycling. With blends dominating fast fashion, solutions must span from waste prevention (upstream design) to technological regeneration (fibre-to-fibre recycling).

Sources of Textile Waste

Waste is generated throughout the textile lifecycle:

• Upstream (Pre-production): Inefficient cutting plans, misaligned fabric widths, or design choices that create high offcut percentages.

• Midstream (Production): Side-cuts, rejected fabric rolls, trims, overstock, or misprints. This is the largest source of industrial waste.

• Downstream (Post-use): Consumer discards, returned goods, and garments at end-of-life. Blended, dyed, and mixed materials make this the hardest to recycle.