Images of textile mountains are often used to galvanise action across the fashion industry and demonstrate the necessity of strong regulation to push forward T2T recycling; yet these people-less images rarely feature the waste pickers driving their re-use.
In hubs such as Kantamanto Market and Panipat, people have created livelihoods, income, and agency from discarded textiles. However, the sheer volume of incoming waste now exceeds local capacity to sort and upcycle safely, often exposing workers to hazardous conditions (Guardian). As the industry looks to automate recycling, how do we ensure this transition doesn’t further exploit or exclude the informal workers managing waste.
In this session, we’ll explore what companies can do to protect worker rights and dignity while building compliant, transparent waste management systems that work with, not against, existing communities.
What to expect from this type of session...
Hear from expert speakers on these mainstage panel discussions as we address the critical sustainability challenges and opportunities within the industry.
