Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 19 September 2026, said that sustainability has long been integral to India's ethos and is now actively shaping the future of the country's textile sector. Modi shared an article on X written by Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh, spotlighting how initiatives around textile recycling, cleaner production, and green technologies are helping build a more circular and competitive industry.

What PM Modi and the Textiles Minister Said

Sharing the article, Modi highlighted that Giriraj Singh underlines 'how initiatives around textile recycling, cleaner production and green technologies are helping build a more circular and competitive textile industry.' Singh, in his article, argued that recycling, waste recovery, cleaner technologies, responsible manufacturing, and stronger market opportunities are collectively repositioning India's textile industry for both global competitiveness and environmental resilience.

Singh further noted that when Prime Minister Modi said, 'The world is adopting the vision of Fashion for Environment and Empowerment, and India can lead the way in this regard,' it pointed to a transformation already visible across India's textile landscape. Singh wrote that under Modi's leadership, 'the government is committed to ensuring that India does not have to choose between growth and sustainability, but that both move forward hand in hand.'

Scale of the Sector and Growth Targets

The domestic textile market has expanded significantly — from approximately ₹6 lakh crore in 2014-15 to over ₹16 lakh crore — reflecting robust sectoral expansion and a growing contribution to the national economy. The sector spans fibre, yarn, fabric, processing, apparel, technical textiles, and made-ups.

As India targets a $350 billion textile and apparel industry by 2030, sustainability is, according to Singh, 'shifting from the margins to the centre of its competitiveness strategy.' For a sector of this breadth, sustainability is increasingly a question of market access and long-term resilience, not just environmental responsibility.

Employment and Jobs Outlook

The textile and apparel sector currently provides direct employment to more than 5.3 crore people, making it one of India's largest job-generating industries after agriculture. The sector is expected to generate nearly 2 crore additional jobs over the next three years, adding weight to the government's argument that green and competitive goals can be pursued simultaneously.

Why This Matters

This comes amid growing global pressure on textile exporters to meet tighter environmental standards — particularly from the European Union, which has introduced mandatory sustainability disclosures for apparel imports. India's move to front-load sustainability messaging at the political level signals that the government views green compliance not as a cost, but as a market-access imperative. Notably, the textile sector's nearly threefold market growth since 2014 gives the industry a stronger base from which to absorb the transition costs of cleaner production.