The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles—An Opportunity for Global Supply Chains was organised by FICCI in association with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), on October 5, 2015 at Federation House.

Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, Parliamentary State Secretary, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, of the Federal Republic of Germany and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank addressed the discussion. The objective was to provide profit to the Indian textile and garment industries. The discussion aimed at bringing about continuous improvement of social, ecological and economic sustainability along the entire textile chain.

Fuchtel said that given that globally, India is the second biggest producer of cotton and for processing of textiles and garments, the Indian textile and garment industries are of great importance at all levels of the value chain.

Improvisation of conditions along the complete textile value chain is the aim of Germany's partnership for sustainable textiles. More than 150 member organizations are part of the alliance and at present it covers about 45 per cent of the German textile retail industry and aims at a long-term market coverage of 75 per cent.

The aim of the partnership is to bring about continuous improvement of social, ecological and economic sustainability along the entire textile chain. Immediate Past President, FICCI, Sidharth Birla, said that the Indian textiles sector is dependent on exports in a major way. Annually, India exports over $1.8 billion of textiles and textile items to Germany at present. Hence, it is important that the Indian textile industry gets integrated in the global supply chain. Birla added that today, the world is fast moving towards sustainable solutions and sustainable supply chain and Germany is the global leader in such sustainable and smart solutions.

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