The real impact of Bharat Tex—a mammoth undertaking by the Indian government and the 12 major associations across the country—begun percolating within days of the show coming to a close.
Many from the industry are talking about lessons, strategy, investment and sustainability. Namely, how to make these happen. Instead of a post-event burn out, there appears to be a new energy to translate the immediate takeaways.
Bharat Tex, India’s largest textile event, ran February 14-17 in New Delhi, the second since it launched in 2024.
This time, both the pre-and post-show vibes were much more intense.
“Naturally so, given that that the show last year was put together in four months, while this time, there was the whole year in the in the planning,” Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), told Sourcing Journal. “With 12 of the largest industry associations coming together to put forward their points of view, share ideas, and seek solutions, it is much bigger than last year, spanning an area of 220 million square feet, more than last year’s 200 million square feet. The exhibitor space was sold out early,” he said.
“One of the largest retailers in the U.S. came with the senior vice president and one buyer last year—but this time it was with a team of 10 buyers, from different industry segments. Obviously they saw some merit. Smaller buyers are also important for us, because they feed the micro industries, and there was a surge in their numbers,” Sekhri said.
During the four-day event in New Delhi, there was a bustling energy.
“One of the things that led it for us was the enthusiastic participation from the government itself—not just notionally, but on-the-ground, and in conversations—to be able to share and discuss the frustrations with policy, and immediate requirements, both on the level of the states, and the central policies,” a manufacturer from Bengaluru observed.
Prime minister Narendra Modi arrived at Bharat Tex mid-event, on Feb. 16, returning after his meeting with President Trump in Washington D.C, and established the point further.
He called for India “to lead the world in adopting the vision of fashion for environment and empowerment.”
“Over the past year, Bharat’s textile and apparel exports have increased by 7 percent. Now, are you going to applaud for just 7 percent? Let’s save the applause for when we achieve a 17 percent increase next time. The textile industry is one of the most vital sectors in our country, providing extensive employment opportunities. This industry contributes 11 percent to Bharat’s manufacturing sector,” he said.
He also spoke about innovation and implementing long-term strategies.
“A reflection of our efforts can be seen in this year’s budget. Keeping in mind the industry’s key requirements, we are working to ensure a reliable cotton supply within the country, make Indian cotton globally competitive, and strengthen our entire value chain,” he said.
“We are serious about making the Indian textile and apparel industry a global sourcing hub,” Rohit Kansal, additional secretary, Textiles said at the event,.
Among the many conversations taking place—both in knowledge sessions, as well as within the networking and conversing spaces, was the fact that much of sourcing is being affected by geopolitics: President Trump’s trade wars, Bangladesh past months of political change, China’s role in the changing order, Vietnam’s snapping up more orders—and importantly, the impact of each of these on India.
“India is definitely on the map right now,” Pallak Seth, vice chairman, PDS Limited told Sourcing Journal. “What’s happening on the geopolitical side, and the issues facing many other countries is that India can grow in the regional perspective both by design and default,” India has a large population, political stability, green energy—there are many advantages at this time. A lot of retailers made the effort to come as well—and are pleased that they can see yarn, fabric, innovation, sustainability, home products, accessories, all in one location. If it can be on their annual calendar in this form, the message will continue to go out more clearly. It’s definitely a good initiative and it’s bringing the spotlight. People will see more value in the industry,” he said.
From a supply chain resilience and security perspective, buyers want to move things around and spread the supply chain a bit at the present time, he explained. “It’s about speed, it’s about cost, and its geopolitics, the combination of all three is working and helping us as a company, because we are agile,” he said.
PDS has crossed the $2 billion revenue, and while more than 50 percent manufacturing has been out of Bangladesh, is also stepping up sourcing from India, having just marked its 25th year in the industry in 2024. “PDS being a global, asset light company we are able to get the best people to provide equity and set up operations in. a much faster way,” he said.
No question, sustainability was the hero-topic, with rousing conversations about costs, progress, targets, and how different segments could help each other. There was also encouragement for those who had understood and implemented over the past year. The last day of the event brought cheers with CITI’s sustainability awards and discussions on the winners—and their strategies.
The sustainability awards on the last day of the event, organized by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) were notable, according to industry insiders. Minister of state for textiles Pabitra Margherita walked the ramp in a showcase of India’s sustainable heritage weaves, titled ‘Earthloom – Threads of Heritage’.
While there was debate among manufacturers whether there were enough big buyers at the event, organizers shared that Japan had the largest number of apparel buyers at the show, followed by UAE, Iran, USA, Spain, UK, South Africa, Russia and Australia.
The brands represented a global mix including: Apparel Group- UAE, Primark Stores Ltd – Ireland, Adastria Co. Ltd- Japan, Idkids- France, Melon Fashion Group – Russia, Al Safeer Group- UAE, Tatuum Group – Poland, Soho D.o.o – Croatia, Nesto Group- UAE, Hotel Shops -Mexico, One brand Apparel- USA, Chic Parisien – Uruguay, Lola Casademunt- Spain, Castro- Israel, Queens Park- South Africa, among others.
The huge showcase halls featured more than 6,000 exhibitors from around the world.
Many players from the industry were pleased with the fact that prime minister Modi spent some time in his speech talking about “maximizing resource efficiency” and “minimizing waste,” while noting that millions of garments become obsolete every month, and turning into “fast fashion waste.”
“These garments are dumped in various parts of the world, posing a severe threat to the environment and ecosystems. Estimates suggest that fashion waste will reach 148 million tons by 2030. Currently, less than a quarter of textile waste is being recycled. However, our textile industry can transform this challenge into an opportunity. Bharat has a long and diverse tradition of textile recycling and upcycling,” he said.
“India’s textile recycling market is projected to reach $400 million in the coming years, while the global recycled textile market is estimated to reach nearly $7.5 billion. By taking strategic steps now, India has the potential to secure an even larger share of this market. I encourage our start-ups to actively engage in these efforts, seize these emerging opportunities, and establish a strong foothold in this massive global market,” he said.
There were more details over the sessions about the pilot projects for door-to-door collection of textile waste underway in Navi Mumbai and Bangalore, as well as the fact that the conclave in Panipat in Northern India had strengthened and was working its way towards finding more solutions.
The Restart Alliance, led by the Laudes Foundation in partnership with Fashion for Good and with Canopy and IDH, held a round table meeting at the Craft Museum during the event, that participants said really helped them understand different points of view, as well as tabulate the way forward.
“There was much more a sense of ownership and accountability at Bharat Tex,” Anjali Krishnan, senior program manager, IDH told Sourcing Journal, referring to the interactions between the organizations, the visitors, and other industry representatives.
Krishnan said that it wasn’t just about talking about the issues in the various panels—but a more comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem since so many of the different industry segments were present together.
“It is about collaboration, and that was the focus at Bharat Tex. Many of the issues have complex solutions, so it was helpful to be able to understand the ecosystem better so we don’t overlap, but rather merge and bring each other into the fold. The discussions at Bharat Tex started with understanding the work each of us were doing, our areas of specialization and hearing collectively from people from different sectors—those who work with raw materials, market-based organizations, investors, among others, then planning how we can involve each other at ground level. This gives us a direction so that we don’t duplicate, but rather keep adding more to move further along more quickly,” she said.
What happens next after Bharat Tex?
“The next five years will be spent on scaling—we’ve got past the stage of proof of concept,” she said.
“We‘ve talked a lot,” she observed. “Now it’s time to walk the walk, and we have the entire year to actually build on what we discussed, understand the issues that came up in the panels and see if these can be sorted and scaled,” she said.
