Textile hub Tiruppur weaves a comeback as exports spring back to life

After experiencing an 11 per cent contraction in exports in 2023-24 (FY24) due to a dip in exports for 10 consecutive months from April to January, the Tiruppur textile industry is back on track in 2024-25 (FY25).

The cluster, which contributes 55 per cent of the country’s total knitwear exports, posted a 13 per cent increase in the first five months of this financial year (FY25), with August seeing a 22 per cent rise — the highest in over two years.

Additionally, global majors like Primark, Tesco, Tommy Hilfiger, Marks & Spencer, and Warner Bros.

Discovery Global Consumer Products, among others, are lining up to place orders with manufacturers from this textile city.

According to the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA), a major reason for this shift is the Green Tiruppur sustainable strategy adopted by the manufacturing units, which has made the hub more attractive to buyers in the US and Europe.

Moreover, the recent political instability in Bangladesh has also made Tiruppur an attractive option for global apparel majors.

Companies from the US, such as GAP, Carter’s, and Walmart, along with European giants like Next and Duns, and Australian companies like Target and Woolworths, have placed orders during the first five months.

The textile industry is traditionally energy and water-intensive and produces substantial greenhouse gas emissions.

However, investments in zero liquid discharge, green energy, and tree plantations have positioned the Tiruppur knitwear cluster to comply with environment, social, and governance standards, making it a carbon-negative cluster.

This has attracted companies keen on green compliance to the region.

“Companies here are promoting Green Tiruppur. We are planting 2 million trees and generating nearly five times the green energy required, from wind and solar, which totals around 1,900 megawatt (Mw), while our requirement is only around 300 Mw," said K M Subramanian, president of TEA.

“We are also using almost 100 per cent recycled water out of the total water requirement of 150 million litres every day for processing our fabrics,” Subramanian added.

The manufacturers are supplying the remaining power to the grid.

During the first five months of the current financial year, the region’s exports were valued at Rs 14,679 crore, a 13 per cent increase from Rs 12,995 crore during the April to August period of 2023-24. In August alone, there was a 22 per cent rise, reaching Rs 3,114 crore, up from Rs 2,550 crore in August 2023.

This comes at a time when the region's overall exports fell by 11 per cent in 2023-24, to Rs 30,690 crore, compared to Rs 34,350 crore in 2022-23.

This decline was due to multiple factors, including the war in Ukraine, the financial crisis in Europe and the US, and global business disruptions.

Tiruppur has around 28,000 manufacturing units involved in various processes across the textile value chain, providing employment to roughly 800,000 people.

These include knitting, dyeing, bleaching, fabric printing, garmenting, embroidery, compacting, calendaring, and other ancillary units.