Panipat Textile MSMEs Gear Up For EU Sustainability, Traceability Requirements

Chandigarh, Sep 24 (KNN) More than 60 MSMEs, exporters and stakeholders from Panipat’s recycled textile cluster participated in a workshop focused on the proposed Sustainable Cluster Brand (SCB) and evolving European Union sustainability regulations.

The workshop sought to build understanding and consensus among MSMEs and exporters on the proposed SCB criteria, while helping businesses prepare for growing sustainability and traceability requirements in international markets, particularly the EU.

Focus On EU Sustainability Regulations

The session covered the EU Labelling Regulation and included discussions on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR).

Participants also discussed the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and proposed SCB criteria, with emphasis on transparency, traceability and sustainability performance across the textile value chain, reported Business Standard.

Abhishek Naga, Deputy General Manager, Energy & Environment, Foundation for MSME Clusters (FMC), said MSMEs need to proactively adapt to evolving global sustainability standards to remain competitive in international markets.

EU Market Offers Export Opportunity

The workshop highlighted the scale of the European market, with the EU importing around EUR 180.5 billion of apparel in 2024, including EUR 79.2 billion from developing countries.

India accounted for around EUR 4.1 billion of EU apparel imports, rising to nearly EUR 7 billion when textiles, apparel and home textiles are included.

Harshitha Venati, Senior Impact Manager, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), shared insights on EU labelling requirements, while Devyani Hari, Senior Director, Center for Responsible Businesses (CRB), discussed DPPs and the proposed SCB framework.

Green Threads Project

The workshop was organised by FMC in collaboration with GFA and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), with participation from CRB and Conserve India.

The session was held under the EU SWITCH-Asia Green Threads Project, which aims to support India's textile and apparel MSMEs in adopting sustainable, circular and resource-efficient production practices.

The project focuses on capacity building, technical support and stakeholder engagement, with Panipat and Amroha among the textile clusters covered in India.

(KNN Bureau)