True colours:
India's textile industry takes toll on environment

Jaipur, India

India is one of the world’s largest producers of textiles and clothing, with the sector contributing more than two percent to the vast nation’s economic growth, according to the national government. A water pollution crisis is gripping India’s desert state of Rajasthan, where a booming textile dyeing and manufacturing industry has boosted jobs and revenue but also contaminated critical resources. This is one the last places in the state where only natural pigments are used. As the industry flourishes many others have moved on to using other colourants. The growth of the textile trade has been at the expense of the environment, experts say, with wastewater from factories, including from textile manufacturers, polluting soil and water bodies used by farmers and residents.