Sustainable Fashion (Virtual) India 2021
The India virtual mission was the third sustainable fashion Global Expert Mission that Innovate UK KTN, Innovate UK and the British Fashion Council have organised. The first was to New York City in November 2019, and the second was to Paris in February 2020. The India virtual mission was comprised of a public showcase of Indian sustainable fashion companies and UK Government-business activities to support sustainable fashion, followed by three closed-door roundtable sessions with UK and Indian fashion delegates to discuss circularity, digital technologies and government policy and partnership-building.
Abstract from outcome report:
As one of the world’s largest textile and garment markets, valued at over US$100 billion, with three-quarters from domestic consumers and a quarter from exports. India has a pivotal role to play if the global fashion industry is to achieve net zero. India is a leading production base for many British brands, and a growing number are opening a retail presence to access the 600+ million Indian consumer market. Furthermore, Indian brands want to access the UK consumer market (which has the highest per capita spend on fashion in Europe) and access the UK’s global platform through designers presented at London Fashion Week.
Like the UK, the Indian fashion industry is dominated by a linear growth production model, where virgin materials are used to produce garments, which go to landfill or are incinerated at the end of life. This has given rise to overproduction and consumption of low-cost apparel and textiles that do not reflect the environmental and social costs. However, there is growing consumer and industry concern about the negative impact of this model and the possibility that fashion could adhere to stronger sustainability principles.
About Global Expert Missions
The Global Expert Missions (GEM) programme is funded by Innovate UK to support the Industrial Strategy’s ambition for the UK to be the international partner of choice for science and innovation. Led by Innovate UK KTN, GEMs play an important role in building strategic partnerships, providing deep insight into the opportunities for UK innovation and shaping future bilateral collaboration programmes.