Data is the New Thread: Weaving India's Textile Sector into a Circular Powerhouse

On November 13, 2025, at the 12th Edition of the India and Sustainability Standards (ISS) International Dialogue and Conference held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, representatives from the Home Exporters Welfare Association of India (HEWA) joined industry leaders, policymakers, and international organizations to address a pressing question: How can India's textile sector meet emerging global data requirements while supporting its MSME backbone?

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The event, supported by the Ministry of MSME, Department of Public Enterprises, and NITI Aayog, and co-hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), alongside the Ministry of Environment of Denmark, InTex India, and the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), highlighted that data has emerged as the critical thread connecting sustainability ambitions with market realities.

The New Data Imperative

The global textile landscape is undergoing a regulatory revolution. European Union directives, including the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative, are establishing unprecedented data requirements for textile products entering European markets. These regulations mandate comprehensive information about environmental footprints, material composition, supply chain origins, and end-of-life options.

For India's textile sector—which exported approximately $37.7 billion worth of textiles and apparel in 2024—these requirements represent both a challenge and an opportunity. The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology, which the InTex India project is helping SMEs implement in clusters like Surat and Karur, requires detailed lifecycle data covering raw material extraction, manufacturing processes, transportation, product use, and disposal.