Textile Loop: A Circular Economy Initiative in the Textile Sector
摘要
India leads the world in textile production and exports, but it al-so faces an increasing environmental problem: the country produces about 7,800 kt of textile waste a year, or 8.5% of the world’s total. Even with dispersed efforts at recycling and reuse, progress is still hampered by the lack of a centralized, digitalized infrastructure for managing textile waste. In order to reduce waste in the Indian textile industry, our study proposes TextileLoop, a mobile application based on the ideas of the circular economy. The research employs a qualitative methodology, with focus group discussions conducted among key stakeholders in Surat India’s leading textile hub. These conversations uncovered important issues, such as small buyer networks, reliance on offline trade, and traditional players’ reluctance to adopt new technologies. The results served as a guide for creating Textile Loop, a B2B platform with an MVC architecture developed with Flutter and Appwrite. In addition to providing educational materials and a collaborative environment for industry stakeholders, the application makes it easier to exchange excess textiles, faulty goods, and used machinery. Its integrated approach, which combines digital infrastructure with circular economy strategies, is what makes it innovative and the first circular economy based platform in India. Our platform aims to scale to a B2C and C2C model, allowing for greater engagement. With implications for both industry and policy, this work offers a workable plan for converting India’s textile sector into a circular and sustainable ecosystem.