A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Textiles Committee, under the Ministry of Textiles, Government e Marketplace (GeM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), Department of Public Enterprises, for the promotion of upcycled products made from textiles waste and scrap, at the ongoing Bharat Tex 2024  - India’s premier global textile event being held at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and was accompanied by the senior officers from the Ministry of Textiles. Shri P. K. Singh, CEO – GeM, was also present at this momentous occasion.

On behalf of the respective organisations, the MoU was signed by Shri S. P. Verma, Secretary, Textiles Committee, Shri Ajit B. Chavan, Additional CEO, GeM, and Shri SubhRatna, General Manager, SCOPE.

Upcycling essentially means repurposing textile waste and scrap to extend its life cycle. Through upcyling, discarded items are transformed into new products of greater value and functionality. Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain are essential to minimise the adverse effects of the linear supply chain. Unlike recycling, which breaks down materials to their base state to create new products; upcycling creatively reuses existing materials without altering their basic structure, thereby, significantly reducing the energy, chemical, and water consumption of the process as well as their impact on the environment.

By the means of these MoUs, GeM will work with stakeholders in the upcycling ecosystem, especially under-served seller groups, to provide them direct market linkages in public procurement, sans intermediaries, through #Vocalforlocal GeM Outlet Stores. These stores will promote upcycled products made from textile waste and scrap.

Further, GeM will also work towards engaging all stakeholders in the textiles upcycling sector through advocacy, awareness, outreach, mobilization and capacity building of last-mile upcyclers. This will be done through stakeholder consultations and design of technical specifications for the listing of upcycled product catalogues for procurement by Government buyers.

The growing awareness around environmental sustainability has given momentum to the idea of ‘conscious consumption’. This has propelled the demand for upcycled products made from textiles waste and scrap. The initiative to promote upcyclers of textile waste and scrap is a start and will in the long-term, meet the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals of Sustainable Cities and Communities and Responsible Consumption and Production, thereby having a positive cascading effect on the realisation of other SDGs.

Since its inception in 2016, the portal has registered 1.46 lakh Government buyers and 21 lakh+ sellers and service-providers, who have listed products in 11,980 product categories and 320+ service categories. Further, in the current financial year alone, 52.58 lakh orders, worth ₹ 3.52 Lakh Crore in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) have been fulfilled, till date.

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