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Seminar on Importance of Circularity to Accelerate European Exports on 25th July 2024 at TEA
July 25, 2024
To reinforce the importance of CIRCULARITY among key tasks to accelerate European exports, Center for Environment Education (CEE) in collaboration with Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) organised a seminar on development of recycling of textile waste and its norms, financial assistance to MSMEs on 25th July 2024 at TEA.
In this seminar, the Vice President of TEA Mr. V. Elangovan, Joint Secretary Mr. Kumar Duraisamy, Executive Committee Member and Vice-Chairman of Business Development, Branding & Sustainability Sub-Committee Mr. K. Mezhiselvan, Executive Committee Member Mr. S. Sundaramurthy, Advisory Committee Member Mr. N. Pradeep Kumar, and the Sustainability Adviser of TEA Mr. S. Periasamy, Senior Program Director, Center for Environmental Education (CEE), Mr. Tushar Jani, Mr. Kashyap, Mr. Prantik Chakraborty of TUV Rheinland Group, Mr. Ramakrishnan Sabari Girish of Sulochana Spinning Mills Pvt. Ltd., Branch Manager of SIDBI Mr. S. Ramachandran, exporters, representatives of exporters’ companies and representatives of trade associations participated and Mr. Sundar Senthilnathan on behalf of H&M Group India participated online.
Mr. Tushar Jani, Senior Program Director, Center for Environmental Education (CEE) in his welcome address said the objectives of the meeting was to bring awareness on baseline assessments, to understand the state of the Indian textile industry, training/skill development for all suppliers and workers in the industry in collaboration with academic institutions, preparation of a policy document to be submitted to the Central Government on Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Industry.
The Joint Secretary of the TEA Mr. Kumar Duraiswamy in his keynote address said that under the guidance of the founder and Honorary Chairman of Tiruppur Exporters Association, Padmashri Dr. A Sakthivel, and the able leadership of President Mr. K.M. Subramanian a lot of Sustainable efforts had been undertaken by the association and Tiruppur Cluster – Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD which helps in recycling and reusing 13 Crore of litres of water everyday), investment on green energy equivalent to 4.5 times the consumption rain water harvesting, planting and maintaining almost 20 lakh saplings, women employment and empowerment, contribution of 55% to India’s knitwear exports, and recycling of textile waste. He pointed out that because of ZLD the process houses in Tirupur and the exports incurred an additional cost of Rs. 30 per Kg. Since ZLD is not followed anywhere else in the country, the additional cost of Rs. 30 incurred by Tirupur manufacturer is an extra burden. To make a level playing ground and make Tirupur competitive, it is essential to make ZLD mandatory all over the country. He requested CEE make a specific mention of this in their policy recommendation to the Central Government. Additionally, this would also help save us from ecological harm.
The Vice President of TEA Mr. V. Elangovan, speaking as a representative of a merchandising service said that to act as a bridge between manufacturers and Buyers in facilitating the transition towards recycling in the textile sector was their main task. He mentioned the agreement with European Company REVERSE RESOURCES was a timely step taken by TEA towards Sustainability. Referring to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), he was hopeful that Tirupur will achieve net zero by 2030.
Mr. Ramakrishnan Sabari Girish of Sulochana Cotton Spinning Mills, elaborated on the reuse of textile waste and solid waste after ZLD through recycling and the challenges faced by his company in doing so.
Mr. Sundar Senthilnathan, who participated virtually in this seminar on behalf of H&M Group India mentioned that Tirupur is a pioneer in green garment production by following all Sustainability norms. He also elaborated on the new legislations passed in European countries in this regard.
Mr. Prantik Chakraborty belonging to TUV Rhineland Group. Spoke on the various certifications required in support of Sustainability and Circularity to fulfil the European Laws and the procedures to be followed by the manufacturers to obtain these Certifications.
Tirupur Branch Manager of SIDBI Mr. S. Ramachandran explained about the existing green credit schemes and grants available in SIDBI for MSMEs adopting Sustainability and recycling systems and the eligibility criteria for the loans.
Doubts and queries raised by the participants were addressed by the speakers.
Vice Chairman of Business Development, Branding & Sustainability Sub-Committee of Tiruppur Exporters Association Mr. K. Mezhiselvan proposed the vote of thanks.
