Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: To navigate the 2026 fashion landscape, one needs to speak the language of circularity. Here are the terms popping up in Panipat’s boardrooms:
Circular Fashion (SDG 12.5): A system where clothing is designed, produced, and used in a way that it never becomes waste. It is the opposite of the ‘take-make-dispose’ model.
DPP (Digital Product Passport): A mandatory digital tag for products sold in the EU (as of 2026) that stores information about durability, repairability, and recycled content.
Mechanical vs chemical recycling: Mechanical involves shredding fabric (common in old Panipat), which often lowers quality. Chemical recycling breaks fabric down to a molecular level to create ‘virgin-grade’ new fibres.
EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility): A policy where fashion brands are legally and financially responsible for their products even after the consumer throws them away. This is the ‘stick’ forcing brands to invest in hubs like Panipat.
Post-consumer waste: The clothes people throw away. This is ‘high-value trash’ compared to ‘pre-consumer waste’ (factory off-cuts).
Traceability: The ability to track a garment’s journey from the rag-picker’s bag to the retail shelf, usually powered by Blockchain.