The textiles industry has a ubiquitous presence in our daily lives. From clothes to towels, bedsheets, blankets and more, the use of essentials directly depends on the operations of this sector.
The textiles sector in India is one of the largest in the world, employing over 45 million people. It contributes to nearly 2% of the nation’s GDP—this is expected to more than double by the end of this decade. The significance of the textiles sector, therefore, cannot be overstated.
However, it all comes at a hefty environmental cost. This is not just an issue affecting India– it is global. To understand the scale, here’s an example: one single cotton t-shirt requires 2,700 litres of water—equivalent to 2.5 years’ worth of drinking water for one person. That is not all—5.9 trillion litres of water are used annually for dyeing fabric (of this, 1.3 trillion litres are used to dye garments alone). Dyeing and treatment practices are also responsible for generating 20% of the world’s wastewater, most of which remains untreated. The sector also has a high carbon footprint, accounting for 6–8% of global carbon emissions.
A Familiar Scene in the Panipat Textile Cluster
These issues are also present in the expansive Panipat textile cluster, spread across nearly 90 acres in the northern state of Haryana, India. The cluster houses close to 400 registered textile dyeing units that employ around 150,000 workers. Day-to-day functions in the cluster consume enormous amounts of energy and other resources, while generating tonnes of harmful waste that flow into the river Yamuna– a lifeline for north India.
Pioneering a Shift in the Cluster
Drawing upon its experiences in optimizing water use and mitigating pollution across India’s leather clusters, Solidaridad sought to replicate the approach in the Panipat textile cluster. The Pollution Prevention and Effective Waste Management in the Panipat Textile Cluster project, supported by the Indian government’s National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), kicked off in late 2022. This project is directly aligned with the country’s flagship programme to restore the Ganga river system, including the Yamuna, one of its most heavily polluted tributaries. Curbing industrial textile effluents from clusters such as Panipat is central to achieving the mission’s river rejuvenation goals.
Implemented by Solidaridad in collaboration with the Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and the Panipat Dyers’ Association, the project is working with 40 small and medium textile units to:
- Optimize water, energy and chemical use
- Improve solid waste management
- Strengthen occupational health and safety framework for workers
At the cluster level, the project seeks to effect change in three areas:
- Environmental footprint reduction (including greenhouse emissions) through cleaner technologies, improved chemical management systems and adoption of best management practices
- Strengthening occupational health and safety systems for improved worker well-being
- Improvement of environmental quality for surrounding communities by minimizing exposure to pollution. More specifically, by reducing chemical effluents and hazardous sludge discharged into the river Yamuna, and minimising toxic waste deposited in landfills and agricultural soil, thereby safeguarding the health of downstream farming communities
“Across South Asia, where textile pollution is an urgent and growing crisis, the Panipat experience offers something rare—a model that works on the ground, backed by the kind of public-private commitment that can actually move the needle at scale,” says Tatheer Zaidi, Asia Head, Pollution Management in MSMEs, Solidaridad.
Towards a Safer, Greener Textile Sector—One Unit at a Time
The core interventions (see diagram) are helping local enterprises such as Mukesh Furnishing and Raj Dyers turn over a new leaf.
The use of conventional dyeing practices and poor safety practices in Mukesh Furnishing posed a significant challenge in their operations. These led to excessive water, energy and heat consumption, as well as risky handling of chemicals, in turn leading to high attrition rates among workers.
Supported by Solidaridad, the unit deployed a number of technical solutions to address these issues. By adopting an auto-controller for optimizing water use in the dyeing process, the unit was successfully able to reduce water waste by 15% without compromising the quality of dyeing. To address the issue of heat loss during dyeing, the unit started to insulate/clad the jet dyeing machine with a layer of mineral wool and an aluminium sheet. The insulation reduced the temperature of the external surface of the machine (from around 120°C, previously, to around 40°C, now), thereby preventing heat loss and minimising chances of worker accidents. This measure alone helped the unit reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 774.80 tCO₂e/year (from 929.70 tCO₂e/year to 154.90 tCO₂e/year)—a figure independently validated and certified by the verification body, TÜV SÜD South Asia.
“Earlier, we felt afraid working around the machines,” says Kamalkant, a 47-year-old dyeing unit worker at Mukesh Furnishing. “The heat was intense and we were not always sure of the right way to handle certain chemicals. It was a challenging environment, and some of my colleagues moved on from the unit.”
Mukesh Furnishing also employs a circular model, whereby they are reusing the wastewater treated in a common effluent treatment plant. This practice avoided freshwater use and prevented the release of harmful effluents into the Yamuna. The unit dyes around 2,000 batches of textile fabrics a month using the recycled water.
Rishabh Narang, Director, Mukesh Furnishing, says: “With the help of Solidaridad, we’ve managed to reduce our water and chemical use while enhancing energy efficiency, resulting in meaningful cost savings for the business. The support in improving occupational health and safety [standards] has also made a noticeable difference in the workplace.”
The textile unit has implemented an Integrated Chemical Management System to improve workers’ handling of chemicals and prevent mishaps. Comprehensive safety training sessions have equipped workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to prevent accidents. As a result, the company has completely eliminated fire and occupational accidents. Workers have also reported improved safety conditions, with fewer incidents of chemical exposure and minor injuries, fostering a healthier and more secure working environment.
“When Solidaridad came in and started working with our unit, things began to change on the floor in ways we could actually feel. The machines are safer to work around now, and the training sessions gave us proper guidance on chemical handling and the use of protective equipment—something we had not had before. It has made a real day-to-day difference for workers like us,” says Kamalkant. “The management has been supportive in bringing these changes—and with Solidaridad’s continued support, I believe the working conditions will only get better. It gives us confidence that our well-being is being taken seriously,” he adds.
“Beyond environmental gains, the project has maintained a strong focus on improving workers’ occupational health and safety. Overall, the initiative is evolving into a scientifically robust and scalable model that can be replicated to address pollution challenges in the textile sector across the Yamuna basin, creating a win–win proposition for all relevant stakeholders,” says Tatheer.
A Systems Transformation
Another enterprise, Raj Dyers, suffered frequently from operational inefficiencies. It consumed 400,687 litres of water and 1,082.69 litres of chemicals daily. Its fuel consumption was also high—around 11,250 kg per month. Inefficient dyeing processes, weak preventive maintenance and inadequate resource monitoring meant high operational costs and increased compliance risks.
“When running a dyeing unit in Panipat, you are always working within limits—limited space, limited resources, and, honestly, limited awareness of what better practices could even look like. When the idea of upgrading first came up, my immediate concern was practical: where do I make these changes in a unit that is already running at full stretch with barely any room to spare?” says Darpan Chawla, Managing Director, Raj Dyers.
Targeted interventions under the project came to its rescue. These included:
- Optimizing processes in machines used for dyeing and processing woven fabric
- Ensuring optimum use of chemicals through precise automated systems
- Optimizing material-liquor ratios (the ratio of the weight of dry material to the volume of liquid used)
- Installing flow meters to track water flow
- Recycling energy from steam ager exhaust gases
- Strengthening effluent treatment plant (ETP) operations
Simultaneously, management systems were strengthened with the introduction of utility monitoring frameworks, preventive maintenance planning, chemical logbooks and regular internal audits.
“By working with us, an average MSME unit in Panipat is achieving around 30% water savings, 26% reduction in chemical use and 9% energy savings. These improvements have also translated into substantial cost savings for the units. Encouragingly, this has led to several leading international brands and businesses showing strong interest in this initiative,” says Tatheer. “Enterprises are becoming more efficient, more competitive and more resilient in the process—with third-party verified GHG reductions of nearly 3,700 tCO₂e per year through the implementation of eight key process optimization interventions, certified according to the ISO 14064-2:2019 standard,” he adds.
Process-level interventions are coupled with training of the staff at the textile unit to improve their technical competency, and promote a culture of responsible resource use.
It has led to tangible outcomes. Capacity building and training improved ETP compliance. It has also led to proper chemical storage and labeling, regular use of personal protective equipment (PPE), institution of emergency response systems, fire safety preparedness, and improved housekeeping. As a result, workplace safety and regulatory compliance have been significantly enhanced.
Annual savings in the unit are in line with the cluster average (INR 17 lakh or 15,599.06 euros per unit/enterprise per year), improving profitability and enhancing the unit’s competitiveness in domestic and export markets.
“What impressed me about Solidaridad was that they did not come with a standard solution and ask us to fit into it. Their experts walked through my unit, understood my constraints, and designed interventions that worked within what I already had. The changes that followed were not disruptive—they were built into our existing operations,” says Darpan. “We started using water more carefully, dosing chemicals more precisely, and recovering energy that we were simply letting go waste earlier. Water that used to run off is now being reused within the process itself.”
Perhaps, the greatest shift in Raj Dyers has been in the way it operates. Where previously, processes were marked by a sheer lack of tracking, monitoring, and evaluation, detailed systems are now in place that rigorously gauge and analyse the impact of each of its operations daily, allowing the unit to address obstacles swiftly and in a manner that is sustainable.
“The technical guidance and continuous monitoring provided under this project have greatly helped us reduce wastage and improve efficiency, resulting in a significant reduction in our operational costs,” says Darpan.
Key Results Across the Cluster
The project’s efforts in the Panipat cluster reveal significant impact.
“Of late, running the unit has been different—I have felt less wasteful, and more in control. And when I look at my monthly electricity bill today, I can see the difference directly—what I am spending now is noticeably less (~8–10 percent) than what I was spending before. This is a saving I see and feel every single month. The overall savings that came out of all of this were not something we chased separately—they were simply the result of doing things the right way, consistently, every day,” says Darpan.