The story
Tiruppur was a cotton-ginning and banian (vest) town before it became a knitwear centre. Local farming families moved their savings into small knitting, dyeing and stitching units, and the work was split into many specialised job-work firms. From the 1980s exporters began supplying global brands, and the town grew into India's main knitwear export base. Today almost every step — knitting, dyeing, printing, embroidery, stitching and packing — is done by separate units within a few kilometres.
In numbers
In 2023-24 the cluster exported knitwear worth ₹31,000 crore and sold another ₹27,000 crore in the domestic market; exports were ₹34,350 crore in 2022-23.
Labour shortage casts shadow on Tiruppur's knitwear export boom — India Sea Trade News · 2024The Tiruppur Exporters' Association reported a labour shortage of 20–30 per cent.
Labour shortage casts shadow on Tiruppur's knitwear export boom — India Sea Trade News · 2024A study in Productivity put Tamil Nadu's average knitwear exports for 2016-17 to 2021-22 at ₹26,814.17 crore, against ₹53,884 crore for India.
Productivity (NPC) — Tirupur knitwear cluster before and after the Cluster Development Approach (E. Bhaskaran) · 2022
Ways in for a newcomer
- Job-work units for stitching, printing, embroidery or compacting that serve exporters
- Supply of trims, labels, tags, poly bags and cartons
- Small domestic brands of innerwear and T-shirts sourced from local job-workers
- Services: compliance audits, sampling, logistics and testing
Problems the cluster faces
- Strict zero-liquid-discharge rules raise dyeing costs
- Labour shortage and dependence on migrant workers
- Competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam in global orders
- Swings in cotton yarn prices
Businesses to start here
Cotton Knitted (Hosiery) Fabric Unit →Interlock (Double-Knit) Cotton Fabric →Bleaching and Dyeing of Cotton Knitted Fabric (Job Work) →Gents T-Shirts →Men's Undergarments (Briefs, Trunks and Vests) →Baby Garments Manufacturing →Children's Garments →Readymade Garments Unit (Baby Rompers) →Textile Screen Printing Unit (Sarees and Fabrics) →Knitted Socks Making →
Sources (4)
- Labour shortage casts shadow on Tiruppur's knitwear export boom — India Sea Trade News
- Productivity (NPC) — Tirupur knitwear cluster before and after the Cluster Development Approach (E. Bhaskaran)
- The agrarian origins of the knitwear industrial cluster in Tiruppur — LSE Research Online
- Completed Common Facility Centres under MSE-CDP (as on 22 Mar 2024), Office of DC-MSME