Fashioning a Zero Waste Future

Each year, humans generate over 2 billion tonnes of solid municipal waste, posing a serious threat to our health, the health of the planet, and to the global economy. If we don’t act soon, the annual waste generation is projected to hit almost 4 billion tonnes by 2050. To highlight the gravity of the situation, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) have jointly facilitated March 30th as the International Day of Zero Waste – underscoring the importance of bolstering waste management globally and the need to promote sustainable production and consumption patterns to address the waste pollution crisis. As a responsible corporate, Aditya Birla Group aims to achieve ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ by 2030 across all our businesses. 
 

Transforming Waste to Wealth

Towards the Zero Waste to Landfill goal, Aditya Birla Group has adopted the 'Waste to Wealth' approach that drives circularity by conserving resources and reducing environmental impact. To support this goal, our businesses focus on extending product life, minimising waste, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and strategic collaborations to enhance circularity and accelerate sustainability, with an emphasis on resource recovery and recycling in FY24.

Highlights from our Sustain-ability Report 2024:

• 20 sites achieved Zero Waste to Landfill
• 14.9 million tonnes of waste reused, recycled or repurposed
• 78% of hazardous waste recycled or reused (up from 69% in FY23)
• 6% increase in waste utilisation compared to FY22
• Novelis used 63% of recycled aluminium in its processing
• Ultratech became 3.4 times plastic negative 
• Hindalco recycled 85% of hazardous and non-hazardous waste
   

With this year’s theme for International Day of Zero Waste being ‘Towards zero waste in fashion and textiles’ let’s look at how some of the Group’s fashion and textile businesses in particular, are reducing their impact and promoting sustainability and circularity in the industry.  
 

Fashionabling Zero Waste to Landfills

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) – the Group’s fashion powerhouse - perceives waste management as an opportunity for value creation, not only for the business but also for all stakeholders. Through a streamlined waste management approach ABFRL has achieved, and continues to ensure, ‘Zero Waste to Landfill across all facilities’. What’s more, ABFRL Fashion Craft Ltd. is India’s first TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Zero Waste Gold-certified manufacturing unit.

ABFRL has been recognised as ‘India’s Most Sustainable Retail Company’ and secured the highest score globally in Apparel Retail Sustainability in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), 2024. 

ABFRL House of Sustainable Brands 

• Van Heusen is one of India’s first premium brands to incorporate innovative fashion techniques to promote sustainability. Its manufacturing units have digitalised product lifecycle management with platforms providing complete concept-to-shelf connectivity, in addition to an array of other eco-friendly measures for packaging, plastics and warehousing.
• Louis Philippe’s hemp and hemp-blend shirts, organic cotton products and shirts are made out of recycled threads. Its Green Crest denim wear is crafted from PULCRA fabric, made from recycled cotton that needs less water for dyeing. Laser drying, use of zero chemicals and adopting plastic-free packaging has also shrunk the brand’s carbon footprint.
• Shantnu & Nikhil are eco-conscious couturiers who offer a buyback programme that promotes the re-own, re-love, reuse approach.
• Jaypore, India’s leading destination for craft-based artisanal goods – follows a made-to-order model, has a repurposed clothing line, upcycles Banarasi and Ikat Patola sarees into lehenga-cholis and kurtas, and uses heirloom brocade sarees and sustainable packaging material like muslin.
• Pantaloons collects, reuses, recycles or repurposes cartons from its warehouses, rather than discarding them as waste, with 6 lakh+ cartons reused in FY23 alone.    
   

Weaving technology into greener textiles

Aditya Birla Group has multiple businesses in the textile industry as well, under its flagship company Grasim Industries Limited. Grasim’s businesses are at the forefront of adopting the latest planet-friendly processes and technologies to achieve zero waste to landfills.

• Birla Cellulose manufactures 100% natural, man-made and biodegradable cellulosic fibres that come from renewable wood, using a closed-loop process and environmentally efficient technologies that recycle raw materials and conserve natural resources. In FY24, Birla Cellulose disposed of nearly 90% waste through recycling or reuse. Some of its new generation products include Livaeco, Liva Reviva, Birla Excel and Birla Sunshades. It is also the pioneer of source traceability through blockchain-enabled GreenTrack™ technology. 
• Jaya Shree Textiles manufactures linen under India’s largest linen fabric brand – Linen Club -  using every part of the flax plant in the production process, thus ensuring zero waste. The company has further innovated to upcycle flax waste into blended yarn and linen rich fabric blends as well as ready-to-wear apparel.
• Century Rayon produces a fashion yarn under the brand name Raysil®, contributing to a sustainable shift in the industry through its complete range of cellulosic, 100% natural and biodegradable Viscose Filament Yarn.
   

On the International Day of Zero Waste for 2025, UNEP and UN-Habitat have called on governments, businesses and consumers alike to embrace a zero-waste approach to tackle the waste pollution crisis. Aditya Birla Group is committed to rise to the occasion and continue to strive for Zero Waste to Landfill across all our businesses - today, and every day.