Dressing To Kill? Polluter Pays And India’s New Textile EPR Rules (2025–26)
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Pipsa Peony, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.), KIIT School of Law
ABSTRACT
As the second-largest producer and exporter of textiles in the world, India's textile industry is often cited as an example of the "fast fashion paradox." While it is economically vibrant, contributing to GDP growth, industrial output and employment, it is also responsible for the generation of millions of tonnes of waste each year, contributing to significant national emissions of greenhouses gases (GHG). The textile sector around the world uses 93 billion cubic meters of water each year, produces 10% of global carbon emissions and generates 92 million tons of waste (85% of which is landfilled or incinerated). The high level of pollution caused by textiles in India, including low recycling rates and water pollution from the Noyyal River (Tiruppur) and the Dravyavati River (Jaipur/Sanganer), as well as growing post-consumer waste crises, necessitate urgent reform. This article traces the historic development of the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) in Indian law through significant cases and with enforcement by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to the emergent legal framework of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles. NGT has taken several proactive steps to reduce factory pollution, such as initiating suo motu proceedings in the 2025 Bengaluru textile waste case and ordering interim compensation of ₹100 crore in the Dravyavati case against manufacturers. In the future, as illustrated by signals from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) regarding EPR in 2025 and 2026, manufacturers will bear responsibility for managing post-consumer waste through credit trading, eco-modulation and digital traceability products. While drawing from the EU's Waste Framework Directive of 2025–2026, this article highlights circular economy opportunities and challenges created by the integration of the informal sector and small and medium enterprise compliance. India’s PPP-NGT-EPR mix offers a pathway to sustainable accountability, shifting rapid fashion from planetary peril to cyclical potential.
Keywords: Fast Fashion, Polluter Pays Principle, National Green Tribunal, Extended Producer Responsibility, Textile Waste, Circular Economy, Environmental Compensation.
