CITI, GRI Join Hands To Boost Transparency & Sustainability In India’s Textile Sector

The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has partnered with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to launch the Improving Transparency for Sustainable Business (ITSB) initiative in India on September 10. Backed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the programme aims to strengthen sustainability practices and reporting standards across South Asia’s textile and apparel sector.

CITI chairman Rakesh Mehra said the move will help the industry align with global best practices. “As global markets demand more responsible practices, ITSB is a timely opportunity for our sector to enhance competitiveness and embrace sustainability as a driver of growth,” he noted.

GRI South Asia director Aditi Haldar said the framework would help Indian firms improve ESG disclosures. “Through ITSB, we want to support organizations, regulators, and investors in operationalising impact reporting and making it a win–win for all stakeholders,” she said.

The initiative will act as a multi-stakeholder platform, engaging businesses, worker associations, regulators, investors, and data users. It will focus on building capacity for reporting on climate change, circularity, waste, diversity, biodiversity, employment, health and safety, and tax-related impacts.

ITSB promises multiple benefits: reporting firms will gain tools and training to meet global buyer expectations, investors will access more reliable ESG data, while worker groups can expect better transparency on labour practices. Regulators too will benefit from standardized sustainability data for evidence-based policymaking.

Implementation will begin with key textile clusters, with CITI and GRI planning localized engagement and training to catalyse sector-wide adoption.