Sustainable development is a development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs”(Brundtland Commission1987). In the past two decades there has been a lot of awareness about sustainability in the fashion industry. This paper contributes to current awareness of sustainability in the Tirupur garment industry and its application in garment production. Tirupur is considered the hub of the knitwear industry and is one of the largest foreign exchange earning towns in India. It houses exporters; merchant exporters, who take contracts from exporters; and domestic suppliers. A survey study was conducted in the Tirupur garment industry and data was collected by conducting interview scheduleon the principles and practices followed in the industry for attaining sustainability. It was clear from the study that the Tirupur knitwear garment industry is going through a phase of maturation by catering to the increasing demand of sustainable clothing. The pressure from the overseas buyers to include sustainable practices in the supply chain has made the industry to look for innovative ways for reducing their carbon footprint.
