A roundtable on India’s sustainable Fashion Business Landscape was organised on 30 August 2024 in Mumbai. The roundtable brought together key stakeholders to discuss and advance sustainability in the fashion industry.
Co-Founders of International Fashion Business Exchange Council, Ms. Neha Gupta and Mr. Vinit Parikh emphasized their ongoing commitment to raising awareness about environmental challenges and promoting sustainable practices. They expressed gratitude to the attendees and honored their contributions with commemorative mementos.
Smt. Roop Rashi, Textile Commissioner at Government of India in her remarks, commended the insightful discussions and constructive feedback shared during the session. She underscored the importance of developing cost-effective recycling solutions and improving waste collection systems. Additionally, she advocated for the creation of a unified platform to enhance coordination among buyers, sellers, and manufacturers within the fashion ecosystem.
Ms. Kamakshi Verma, Manager, Primus Partners and Ms. Sanjana Gupta, Senior Consultant, Primus Partners shared their insights on the initiatives taken by the state Government in the ‘Integrated and Sustainable Textile Policy 2023-28’ for ensuring waste reduction in the textile sector using sustainable process during manufacturing, production, and selling of textiles. The emphasis was also laid on the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) principle of sustainability in textiles and other incentives by the state to ensure that more people are benefitted.
The event saw the participation of several distinguished delegates from various sectors of the textile and fashion industries including Sm. Roop Rashi, Textile Commissioner from the Government of India; Shri Tapan Kumar Rout, Director (MR) at the Textile Committee; and Shri Ravindra Sathe, Chairman of Maha Khadi.
Other prominent figures included Mr. Mihir Mehta from Sasma and Sasmira, Mr. Jawahar Lal Chaudhari, Ex-Deputy CEO of KVIC, and Mr. Naveen Sainani, Hon. Secretary of CMAI. Industry leaders such as Mr. Sunil Patwari from TEXPROCIL, Mr. Anuj Bhandari of Aditya Birla Group, and Mr. Dharmesh Nandu, Founder of Apparel Manufacturers of India, were also present.
The event was further graced by Mr. Jaideep Sajdeh of Texool Ltd., Mr. Rajkumar Agarwal, MD of SVG Fashions Pvt. Ltd., and Mr. Shishir Joshi from Project Mumbai, among others. Key figures in the textile sector included Mr. Hemang Palan of Palan Industries, Mr. Narottam Damani of Damani Tex, and Mr. Sandeep Bajoria from the Environment Committee. Leadership roles were represented by Mr. Ajoykant Ruia, Vice Chairman of WTC, Ms. Mansha Balecha of Satva Consulting, and Mr. Santosh Patil, Founder of Textile Park.
Other notable attendees included Mr. Milind Rane of E4F Ressurect Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Sanjay Bhide of Trans Association, Mr. Hitesh Bhatt from the Retailers Association of India, Ms. Heena Shah of FICCI, and Dr. Dhanashri Hardas from the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce. Academicians like Prof. Dr. Sharmila J. Dua, Director of NIFT, Dr. Lipi Choudhary, Associate Professor at NIFT, and Dr. Kislaya Choudhary from the Textile Design Department at NIFT also participated. International representation came from Anna Goncharova of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Russian Federation, as well as Dr. Jayshree Parikh, Academician and Author on Environmental Studies. Dr. Ashok Tiwari, Director at Sasmira, and Vikita Shah, Dean at SIDT, also contributed their expertise to the event.
