Oldest Textile Company in India: Who Started It and Why It Still Matters

When you think of the oldest textile company in India, a business that began in the 1800s and still operates today, shaping the nation’s industrial identity. Also known as India’s first modern textile mill, it didn’t just make cloth—it helped build the backbone of India’s manufacturing economy. That company is Arvind Ltd, a textile giant founded in 1931 that now leads India’s fabric exports and owns some of the country’s most advanced weaving and dyeing plants. But it wasn’t the first textile mill in India—that honor goes to the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, started in 1854 by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar in Mumbai. It was the first successful cotton mill in the country, built to break Britain’s monopoly on cloth. That single factory sparked a revolution. By 1900, over 100 mills were running across Maharashtra and Gujarat, turning raw cotton into exports that paid for India’s industrial growth.

Today, the Indian textile industry, a $150 billion sector that employs over 45 million people and accounts for 12% of the country’s export earnings. still leans on the foundations laid by those early mills. The oldest companies didn’t just survive—they adapted. While many shut down during the 1980s and 90s, Arvind and a few others invested in automation, sustainable dyes, and technical textiles like flame-resistant fabrics for firefighters and moisture-wicking materials for sportswear. They didn’t wait for government help. They built their own R&D labs, partnered with global brands like Nike and Zara, and turned India from a cotton supplier into a designer fabric exporter. Meanwhile, states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu became the new powerhouses—not because they had more history, but because they had better infrastructure, ports, and access to cheap energy. The textile manufacturing history, a story of resilience, innovation, and global competition. isn’t just about who came first. It’s about who kept going when others gave up.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t a list of old names. It’s the real story behind India’s textile rise: who’s leading now, how exports are changing, why PLI schemes are shifting the game, and what’s really driving growth in 2025. You’ll see how the oldest players are still winning, how new startups are using tech to compete, and why sustainability isn’t a buzzword—it’s now the only way to stay in business. This isn’t history class. It’s the playbook for the next decade of Indian textiles.