Most of us know Panipat as the site of some of India’s most significant historical battles, while we know of warfare, the city continues to fight sustainable battles too. Located at the heart of Haryana, Panipat is often called India’s textile recycling capital. In fact, it is one of the largest textile recycling hubs in the world, processing enormous quantities of discarded textiles every year. The city receives clothing and textile waste from across India and even from other countries, transforming materials that would otherwise be thrown away into yarn, blankets, rugs and other products.
What’s interesting is that Panipat has been into the business of quiet “circular fashion” long before the term ever took the spotlight.
Most of us have cleaned out our wardrobes at some point and wondered what happens to the clothes we no longer wear. The truth is, very few of us know what happens after we drop a bag of clothes into a donation bin or hand them over for recycling. In India, Panipat is that one city that has built an entire industry around answering that question.
Every day, thousands of workers sort, separate and shred old textiles. Clothes have reached the end of their life in one place becoming raw material for something entirely new. According to industry estimates, Panipat recycles more than 100,000 tonnes of discarded textiles annually, creating value from what would be otherwise discarded.
The city’s importance has become significant that it has even been highlighted on a national platform, recently in an episode of Mann Ki Baat, PM Narendra Modi referred to Panipat as a global hub for textile recycling recognising its contribution to India’s growing circular economy.
Panipat matters not just because of its title as a recycling center but also because it addresses the challenges of workers in the industry, it also focuses on conversations beyond recycling to worker welfare and sustainable industrial practices.
Every old T-shirt, or any worn garment when discarded has a story after it leaves our homes and more often than most people realise that story begins in Panipat. Panipat is an entire ecosystem powered by people, innovation, circularity and a belief that everything can be made valuable again.
