09/06/2026
Siddharth Lulla, Partner, Intellecap Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), participated in Circular Samvaad 2.0: Enhancing Circularity and Resource Efficiency in the Indian Textile Sector on 5 June 2026 in New Delhi.
The session brought together leaders from across government, industry, finance, philanthropy, and development organizations, including Santosh Kumar, Assistant Director, Ministry of MSME, Srikanth Yeddu (SIMA Funds), Shaguna Gahilote (UN Women), Karan Kumar (Laudes Foundation), and Kavita Sachwani (UNEP). The discussion was moderated by Dr. Reva Prakash, EU-I RECEI, GIZ India.
The conversation highlighted an important reality: India does not have a shortage of circular economy solutions. The challenge lies in creating the conditions that allow circular businesses to scale. Sharing his perspectives, Siddharth emphasized that the question is not whether recycling, repair, resale, upcycling, aggregation, or circular sourcing can work. All of these models have a role to play. Their success depends on local context, market demand, and the ecosystem that supports them.
Some key insights from the discussion:
🔹 Design for Scale, Not Pilots
Many circular initiatives prove technical feasibility but struggle to scale commercially. Circular enterprises should be designed for scale from the outset—anchored in market demand, viable business models, strong ecosystem support, and access to finance. The goal is not successful pilots, but sustainable and investable businesses.
🔹 Market Linkages Matter as Much as Innovation
There is no single pathway to scale. Brands, exporters, institutional buyers, e-commerce platforms, and government procurement each play different roles depending on the enterprise, product, and stage of growth. The right market linkages can often be the difference between a promising pilot and a sustainable business.
🔹 Circularity must be embedded into business strategy
Circularity should not be viewed solely through the lens of sustainability or compliance. Increasingly, it is becoming a competitiveness imperative as global value chains evolve and resource constraints intensify.
🔹 Traceability is becoming a market-access requirement
As global buyers seek greater transparency across supply chains, traceability is rapidly moving from a compliance consideration to a business necessity. For MSMEs, the starting point is often practical and affordable—strengthening supplier documentation, digital record-keeping, material tracking, and chain-of-custody systems. Enterprises that build these capabilities early will be better positioned to compete in future markets.
🔹 The Biggest Gap is Not Capital, But Bankability
While financing is often cited as a barrier, many circular enterprises struggle because projects are not yet investment-ready. Building strong business cases, reliable demand, traceability systems, and scalable operating models is often a prerequisite to unlocking capital.
A key takeaway from the session was that India's opportunity lies not only in developing circular solutions, but in creating the ecosystem conditions—markets, infrastructure, finance, skills, and partnerships—that enable those solutions to scale.
