Tiruppur weaves a new synthetic future

The textile hub embraces man-made fibres, aiming for ₹25,000 crore worth of exports by 2030, even as it struggles with ecosystem gaps and fierce competition. Shine Jacob’s ground report

- Shine Jacob’s ground report

Many call it a quiet textile revolution, engineered by the Tamil Nadu government alongside a determined group of exporters in Tiruppur. Long recognised as India’s knitwear capital and a hub of cotton textiles, the city is now making waves in the global market for man-made fibre (MMF) garments— powered by aggressive policies and bold industry moves.

The figures are striking. From virtually no exposure to MMF four years ago, Tiruppur is today exporting around $500 million worth of such garments. The timing is significant: Globally, MMEs such as polyester, viscose, and nylon account for more than 60 per cent of fibre consumption, compared with about 25 per cent for cotton.

When Business Standard met K M Subramanian, president of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) and promoter of KM Knitwear, he laid out a road map. “Our target is to increase the export revenue from ₹4,747 crore to ₹1 trillion by 2030. The idea is to raise the share of MMF from around ₹4,500 crore ($500 million) now to ₹25,000 crore ($3 billion) by then,” Subramanian said. “We had near zero MMF in our basket almost four years back,” he added.

The spark