India's fashion sector is a huge employer and export earner, but its sustainability problem starts before the factory. Cotton is grown on small rain-fed plots, yields have flattened, and input costs keep rising. The article argues that regenerative farming, soil carbon, and better water use are raw material strategy, not CSR, and the real test is whether farm incomes rise. Polyester and recycled PET get a hard look. Recycled bottles turned into T shirts break one recycling loop and create another, and cotton-polyester blends cannot be separated at commercial scale. Synthetic garments also shed microfibres in the wash. Real circularity means designing for repair, resale, and fibre recovery from the start. The EU Digital Product Passport for textiles arrives in 2027 and 2028, requiring verified data on origin, chemicals, and recyclability. For India, which controls the whole chain from farm to foreign, that is an opportunity if traceability systems are built in time. The article is worth reading for anyone tracking sustainable textiles, carbon policy, or the economics of regenerative agriculture.
