A small river, a big load
Dyeing cloth uses a lot of water, salt and chemicals. Tiruppur’s dye houses let their waste into the Noyyal, a seasonal river with too little water of its own to dilute it. Farms and reservoirs downstream suffered, and the case reached the courts; the Supreme Court had stepped in as early as 1996.
Zero, or shut
On 28 January 2011 the Madras High Court ordered more than 700 bleaching and dyeing units closed until they achieved zero liquid discharge: every litre treated and reused, nothing let out. Knitting and stitching units suddenly had no one to dye their cloth.
Every litre treated and reused, nothing let out.
Rebuilding how a town dyes
Of about 360 dye houses that carried on, 60 built their own treatment plants and the rest joined 18 shared plants. Together they now treat about 13 crore litres a day and, according to the exporters’ association, recycle 96% of it. Treating water to that standard is expensive, and it now sits in the cost of every kilo of dyed fabric.
But global brands now ask where and how their clothes are dyed. A town forced to clean up could show them a cleaner answer than most.
Points for a finance reader
- Put treatment cost in the price. Effluent treatment per kilo of fabric is a real cost (CAS-14). Quote with it in.
- Share plant that one firm cannot afford. Eighteen common plants let small dyers meet a rule built for big ones.
- Make compliance part of the pitch. Brands pay attention to clean supply chains. Show the numbers.