1 As we see the concept of circular fashion catch the interest of consumers and investors, what is your take on the value chain of textile waste management?

As you're likely aware, India currently lacks a comprehensive garment collection system, and there are distinct reasons behind this absence.

Textile waste in India can be categorized into two primary types: post-consumer and pre-consumer waste. Pre-consumer waste management operates relatively smoothly due to the nature of the material, which is predominantly clean and easily collectible directly from its sources such as factories. Scraps of fabric from these factories are typically sorted and processed, often finding their way to recycling hubs like Panipat, Gujrat and down south around Tamil Nadu. Additionally, cotton waste presents a straightforward path back into the production cycle, being recycled into new yarn; while mixed yarn down-cycling into insulation material outside the fashion industry. This process is well-established, forming a robust recycling ecosystem. Larger textile waste items are typically repurposed within the industry for various products or undergo upcycling for domestic markets, while surplus stock is managed by traders. Thus, a functional supply chain for pre-consumer waste exists within the industry.

What we do not have at all is - what happens to the clothes that you wear?

Where do they go, besides, donating to charity, which also has its own limitations.

India is looking to increase its global export market share to 20% and we are becoming one of the largest consumer markets in the world for fashion but we do not have a collection system. We still say that India does not produce any waste when the numbers suggest otherwise.

Once a garment goes into a dump, it cannot re-enter the textile value chain because the material quality has already degraded. There are chemical recyclers that are planning to come to India, but currently they are working for the waste that is coming from the rest of the world to India, not the waste that can be collected, sorted and provided for recycling in India. Most of the organisations that exist globally for circularity are either charity based, government funded, or private and charity based.

The biggest challenge currently is understanding what to do with the waste material? Should one go for upcycling, thrifting? - What is the model to make money for the person who is building a collection system?

There are limited options for thrifting. We do not have a collection system to feed into the existing recycling system. If we build a collection system, it can be connected to recycling units that exist and recycling units that are coming up.

Solutions exist but connections do not, because nobody is putting in money to build circularity in fashion for India. As a production based country we are working on solutions that are scalable for managing waste from the rest of the world while focussing very little on cleaning up our own waste.

In India, our waste is mostly blended waste. Chemical recycling is now becoming better and better and is able to disintegrate a mixed fabric back into polyester yarn and cotton yarn, such that polyester without losing its original strength can become polyester again.

We need to be able to reduce our requirement on virgin materials consumption and increase our utility of recycled material that comes from the fashion industry itself. Obviously, these solutions can be built within India as well but there needs to be R&D for developing these systems. It is extremely important for circularity, for us to focus on building collection systems, sorting systems and finding ways to reuse this waste. We cannot keep sending it back to landfills.

Activations can be done through organisations that are already collecting waste. But they need to be incentivized for it and systems must be built to figure out what to do with the collected material.

Till the time the material does not become valuable for organisations to collect the material they cannot continue to collect. Alternate business models need to be invested in, more brands need to be invested in to be able to make all this acceptable to the Indian consumer because till the time consumer behaviour change is not invested into, it becomes extremely difficult for consumer behaviour to change. There are also organisations that are trying to recycle materials and work with artisan skills that can be used for circularity of material. Alternatives exist but if you do not invest in sustainable brands and sustainability does not become more affordable, then consumer mindset change is much more difficult. There has to be a push from brands to change consumer behaviour because then that changes the entire structure. When a consumer starts putting in money into buying circularity then a circular brand is already working with an ethical business model that pays for fair wages.

There is so much that can come together if there is an investment that is going into greener alternatives, which is currently not happening.

2 We know that most of the recycling centres are in Panipat but not well established within the rest of the country. Are there other recyclers even coming up? Is there even a pipeline of enterprises who are doing something like this?

How will a pipeline exist while the current players are struggling? There are many recycling and downcycling facilities continuously competing with international players leaving very little room for innovations. It is essential to extend government subsidies and support to help set R&D labs and build collection systems with their expertise. If we do not find ways to connect solutions that exist with the problem, nothing will move. Existing waste collectors have tried thrifting and sending waste to small down cycling units, but that is not enough to scale a collection system. Recyclers need to extend their expertise, new innovations in chemical recycling need to be promoted in India, more recycling facilities to recycle waste from India need to be set up, more buyers in India to support recycled material need to exist, sending garments to sorting facilities within India need to become more convenient for consumers, more work to create consumer awareness needs to be done. Aesthetically appealing global responsible fashion and lifestyle brands need to come out of India leading the way using alternate material, supporting collection systems and paying ethical wages for artisans to bring a consumer behaviour change.

Are you also looking at the possibility of branching into doing the collection, yourself?

Ofcourse, that has always been the next step. We want to connect our consumers to convenient garments collection systems; while making discarding-responsibly ‘cool’ and buying less but good looking clothes ‘cool’. As we scale we hope to reduce our price points working with larger quantities and ethical factories.

3 In your current capacity, are there any logistical challenges you are facing that are making it difficult to scale?

For the last 10 years we have seen investors, brands, governments looking for short and quick solutions to manage the waste problem in fashion with CSR and marketing funds. We have been a part of numerous round table conversations and panel discussions talking but not extending financial support to solutions that exist. Many sustainable brands have gone bankrupt while competing with giant brands and no patient capital to scale responsible fashion brands in India. So while we hope to take our efforts to the level even after being aware of multiple solutions available in India to create a responsible fashion brand we amongst others continue to struggle as a bootstrapped business.

Is there a brand preference when it comes to textile recycled material?

Post consumer waste recycling (not downcycling) that happens in India usually happens for A-grade products coming from international markets because the material that is generated after recycling a good quality garment, is also of good quality material. Blended material is still hard to recycle in India and so is widely used viscose. In traditional recycling the strength of the original fibre gets lost once recycled. It then needs to be mixed with virgin fibre or recycled polyester from pet bottles. Any brands if they have a preference for any particular type of recycled materials, it is only because it is good quality raw material.

Drawing a reference from EV OEMs, we see startups coming up which are then supported by a larger automobile brand – do you also wish to supply to other brands who are wishing to transition to sustainable products or do you want to do white labeling sometime in the future to scale?

That is mostly a plug and play. If you are creating a scalable technology or a material to facilitate large brands reaching their sustainability targets they will invest. Recycling pet bottles into polyester yarns for the fashion industry or implementing block chain for transparency are all examples of that. This doesn't lead to consumer behaviour change, it doesn't slow down over consumption of natural resources for fashion, it doesn't not reduce textile waste in landfills and doesn't focus on the social impact the industry can create by getting wages to the artisans working in the fashion industry. It simply allows large brands to say we are making an effort to find solutions without impacting our profits and economies around the world.

We are B2C brands that also sometimes bring the solutions we have on offer to corporations that are looking to make a difference. We have in the past worked with AbInbev to create merchandise for their events, we have created uniforms with alternate material for Hero corp, we did packaging using fabric waste for ABD distillery, we have worked with Decathalon to help them set up local repair centres to save garments that are destroyed in logistics and trials to sell and give them a second life amongst other projects. But beyond that we don’t do R&D for alternate materials and other solutions, we use existing solutions to convert them into products to be consumed consciously.

4 How large is this fashion industry market size, when considered from an investment lens?

Currently these numbers overlap with the overall fashion industry as there are no bifurcations in sale for responsible and fast fashion products. But all market surveys show a rise in consumer interest to buy responsible products or slow down buying or buying second hand products. Sustainability, climate change, social unrest are among the top three things reported to be impacting consumer buying behaviour in the last 5 years. But with our increasing population the appetite to consume fashion or the need to look good hasn’t changed, leaving a massive room for responsible fashion to grow and replace the demand for fashion with responsibly made fashion.

5 We understand that certifying a textile product as sustainable is challenging because the blended nature of the input makes it difficult to trace its origin. Will something on the lines of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines help build traceability of textile waste?

There are many certifications and block chain technologies to help create transparency in the system if your supply chain is very long drawn. But none of them seem relevant for small scale brands that are still working on small quantities and larger varieties to reach more consumers. There are always limited funds that are mostly utilised in inventory, marketing and distribution. As a bootstrapped brand we work closely with our vendors to source material, create products and communicate the same to our consumers as a closely knitted group. This allows us to grow slowly but ethically and someday with excess funds we would be happy to invest in third party certifications and blockchains to create transparency and help recycling setups to trace material and source of each of our products.

6 Is there any kind of incentive that exists with sustainable fashion brands to work with post-consumer waste given that it is more difficult to collect and manage as compared to pre-consumer waste?

No. No incentive for upcycling or recycling, just a lot of cost to pay for material, create unique supply chains and a lot of effort to convince consumers to buy products made from waste and always a question about scalability. There is a lot of opportunity in the space and so many young motivated designers but very little external aid to help them grow.

What is your understanding in terms of assessing the industry from the gestation period it takes to break-even?

You need to see it as any other fashion brand and how long will that take to create its space. Given the right fund and leadership with the right intent it can scale globally one solution at a time. Today there are enough solutions in sustainability, within India and outside India. From dyeing techniques to printing techniques, fabric technique to fabric innovation, you need a brand to convert all that is available into a product, packaging and market it to the consumer. And the product in itself still remains a shirt or a dress just made better.

In terms of fundraising, how are you seeing the market? What is the feedback you're getting from investors?

Investment in building globally responsible brands within India remains conspicuously absent. The lack of patient capital, coupled with a limited comprehension of the sector, instills hesitancy among investors. Without substantial data to substantiate the potential for scalability, reliance on mere surveys to underscore the imperative of a more conscientious fashion industry prevails.

While there are initiatives channeled towards enhancing the sustainability of traditional materials and production methods, there exists a dearth of investment in research and development for novel materials, establishment of collection systems, and improvement of recycling infrastructure. Moreover, there's a notable absence of affordable mass fashion brands committed to incorporating alternatives and transforming them into consumer products.

Despite our past efforts in sparking dialogue, we remain steadfast in our commitment to raising awareness, developing sustainable products, and forging strategic partnerships to amplify our impact.