Dear Readers,
As we draw the curtain on 2025, a look back at the year shows a story of resilience, uncertainties, call for innovation and new pathways for growth in India’s textile and apparel sector. With landmark FTAs inked or on advanced stages of negotiation, emerging international trends in the areas on AI driven innovations and more defined call for traceability and sustainability, India’s story was one leveraging these trends with the India USPs that we have or are developing – fast.
At CITI we worked on various areas of competitiveness over the year, especially in terms of capacity building of the industry on the emerging requirements and trends. CITIs take on sustainability as a comprehensive tool for financial viability and maximum gains to the stakeholder community at large was central to many of our activities. As the Union Textiles Ministry Additional Secretary Shri Rohit Kansal – who chairs the ESG Task Force at the Ministry – pointed out at a webinar on “Industry Transition Readiness Index for Decarbonisation of the Textile sector” jointly organised by CITI and Swaniti Initiative in November, Indian companies need to view sustainability not simply from the prism of compliance. Sustainability should be seen as a potential “strategic differentiator” that can enhance the global competitiveness of India’s textile and apparel companies.
There is a strong business rationale for Indian companies to further improve their act on sustainability – be that in the transition to clean energy, becoming more resource-efficient, or increasing focus on skill development – especially in the backdrop of the free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation with the European Union and the one inked with UK.
A look at the dedicated chapters on Labour, Trade, and Gender Equality in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CEPA) between India and the United Kingdom highlights this point. The Chapter on Labour in India UK FTA is the first standalone chapter on Labour negotiated by India in a trade agreement. The chapter covers commitments and cooperation elements related to labour, including the promotion of internationally recognized labour rights. It also includes binding obligations on non-derogation and effective enforcement of labour laws if they are taken to encourage trade or investment between the two countries.
Again, the Chapter on Trade and Gender Equality (TGE) is the first standalone chapter on Gender negotiated by India in a trade agreement. In this chapter, the two countries have agreed to integrate a gender perspective in advancing their trade relations. The chapter aims to promote opportunities and benefits to women arising from the agreement. It embodies a cooperative approach aiming to integrate women into international trade and overall Global Value Chains (GVCs).
These are important developments which indicate the direction in which future trade agreements will view market access and competitiveness issues and India needs to build understanding and capacity to not just meet these expectations but to have a leadership position. The recently announced labour codes have been brought in partially in recognition of these trends. While they are yet to be fully decoded, CITI looks forward to them to help in aligning international expectations on social due diligences and Indian norms.
As the bulwark of the Indian economy and a huge job generator, MSMEs across the board – including those in the textile and apparel sector – deservedly need timelier, tangible, proactive, and measurable assistance on matters related to these changes as like strengthening labour practices as also issues related to the carbon emissions and shifting to clean energy sources.
A combination of monetary support and assistance in the form of knowledge sharing and technical know-how is what they require so that they can make the course corrections necessary to thrive in a changing world order. The government providing strong handholding support on the sustainability aspect to textile and apparel sector MSMEs is highly desirable.
At CITI, we are doing our bit to make India’s textile and apparel sector MSMEs become more globally competitive and sustainable businesses driven by the belief that aligning with global ESG standards is a competitive necessity for realising India’s ambitions in textile and apparel exports.
As part of these efforts, CITI has joined hands with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to launch – Improving Transparency for Sustainable Business (ITSB) – in India. Supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the ITSB initiative is designed to elevate sustainability practices and transparency across South Asia’s textile and apparel sector, positioning it for long-term resilience, profitability, and global leadership.
As part of ITSB’s India-specific implementation, GRI and CITI will focus efforts on selected textile clusters, driving localised engagement and capacity building. By anchoring the initiative in these hubs of innovation and production, ITSB seeks to catalyse a movement that will ripple across the sector, making sustainability and transparency a strategic advantage for India’s textile and apparel industry in the global marketplace.
CITI has also started work with International Trade Centre, Geneva on areas of self-assessment by the industry on their preparedness in these areas. The coming year will be continuation of many of these partnerships and more work in the direction of strengthening Industry’s agility and responsiveness to the changing expectations of global and domestic buyers.
CITI is also working closely with industry stakeholders on the textile decarbonisation index. The decarbonisation index will enable companies to quickly identify specific areas where they can improve production practices and do so in accordance with industry best practices. It would ultimately serve as a platform for peer-to-peer learning.
Let’s welcome 2026 with renewed optimism, based on our vision to become a recognised sustainable sourcing powerhouse.
