Mumbai,  25^th  February –  In line with its mission to build a circular Textiles & Apparel industry, CAIF launched Project ACE (Accelerating Circular Economy) in collaboration with DOEN Foundation to pilot innovative circular solutions with a consortium of industry partners (brands, manufacturers) in priority thematic areas of focus – like alternative materials, water management, energy efficiency, closing the loop on textile waste, elimination of single-use plastics etc.

This blog by Siddharth Lulla, Lead – Strategy, Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF) talks about how CAIF is building evidence to establish the business case for the adoption of such circular solutions and hence a momentum towards a circular economy in the Textiles and Apparel industry in India.

The Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF) launches a new program – Project ACE (Accelerating Circular Economy), supported by the DOEN Foundation to build a business case for a circular economy

The potential for the application of circular economy principles in the Textile & Apparel industry continues to expand and become clearer. While brands are increasingly looking to explore circular solutions (product innovations, business models, digital tools), a number of real as well as perceived barriers stand in the way of their adoption at scale. One such critical barrier is the lack of clear evidence of their economic viability. A circular solution that promises to deliver planet and people positive outcomes is intuitively interesting. However, if it is not economically viable for the industry (i.e. brands, manufacturers) to adopt, then such a circular solution will find very few takers. Hence a true “Business case” of a circular solution in the context of the circular economy would imply one that provides a combination of financial, environmental and social performance. Thus for a circular solution to be widely adopted and scaled across the industry i.e. by leading brands and manufacturers, an understanding of what its Business Case is, becomes critical.

Based on our interactions and learning’s from key stakeholders across the industry we realize that for evaluating the Business Case for a circular solution: 

With these key learnings and insights, CAIF has launched Project ACE to help the industry (brands, manufacturers) build evidence of the underlying business case of circular solutions across thematic areas that are of business importance – like alternative materials, water management, energy efficiency, closing the loop on textile waste, alternatives to single-use plastics etc. and therefore create the foundation for their greater industry adoption.

About the Programme: 

CAIF launched Project ACE (Accelerating Circular Economy) in collaboration with DOEN Foundation. Through this, we aim to build evidence to establish the business case for circular solutions and hence build momentum towards a circular economy in the Textiles and Apparel industry in India.

Project ACE is designed with a 2-year timeframe and based on inputs from industry leaders aims to bring together a consortium of brands/manufacturers/corporates who are pioneering efforts in mainstreaming circular economy practices – both globally and locally.

Given that no single organization has the ability and/or willingness (resources and motivation) to invest behind scaling circular economy practices.  The programme enables corporate brands and manufacturers to collaboratively pilot circular solutions to prove that circular business has a strong business case in thematic areas aligned with their sustainability goals such as alternative materials, water management, energy efficiency, closing the loop on textile waste, alternatives to single-use plastics etc

Our Approach:

Under Project ACE, CAIF is working closely with the business and sustainability teams of leading brands and manufacturers using the following approach:

Assess High-Impact Solutions 

Remove Risks & Barriers 

Demonstrate Success on Ground 

Establish a Business Case 

Expected Outcomes: