Panipat: the global textile recycling hub tainted by pollution

Ram Bahadur Yadav regularly travels almost 80km from Delhi to Panipat for work in its textile-based industry. He lived in Panipat for many years before he was transferred to the Indian capital by his employer Khadi Gram Kutir, a clothing firm that deals with Khadi - an Indian cloth.  

“There is a lot of work related to textiles […] quilts, clothing, curtains, and jeans in Panipat, and the fabric is printed and dyed there.” Yadav said to FairPlanet.

Cast-off Capital of the World

Panipat is the largest textile recycling hub in the country. “The old clothes that come from abroad are sold there. These foreign clothes are refurbished [and some] are used to make cotton reels, which are then used to make new fabrics,” explained Yadav.

Often called the ‘cast-off capital of the world’, Panipat receives shipments of secondhand clothing from the US, Canada, UK, Western Europe, Japan and Korea to be recycled and resold. The refurbished clothes are later exported or sold in different Indian cities depending on their quality. Panipat receives approximately 250 tonnes of textile waste daily. 

The city emerged as a recycling hub in the mid-1990s, producing goods worth $300 million. A pre-covid report noted that “estimates of the number of people who work in the Panipat textile recycling industry vary from 20,000 to at least 70,000.”

The dark side of sustainability 

Despite the benefits Panipat’s textile recycling industry has on its community, like the employment of locals and recycling of otherwise discarded clothes, it is not without problems. 

“I used to live there for many years. The area is full of filth because that’s the kind of work done there,” said Yadav after visiting one of his company’s units in Panipat. “If you visit, you’ll see dirt everywhere. People do get sick, they recover. It’s a normal thing there.” He added.

“With the textile industry there, dye and all are dumped into the water or the ground. The entire area is dirty. The water that comes out (of factories), is all dirty and untreated.”

Parvinder Singh, the director of Aadi Sustainability Solutions, a sustainable textiles recycling and garment manufacturing company based in Panipat, told FairPlanet textile recycling in Panipat has made significant strides in sustainability, mainly through its modern recycling processes. Recycled cotton tops (shirts or T-shirts), he said, were the preferred fibres on the textile exchange list.

His company specialises in collecting pre and post-industrial waste from garment manufacturers in India and Bangladesh. 

“Textile recycling also has an environmental footprint. One of the key challenges is ensuring that recycled products can be recycled again. This challenge primarily stems from the blending of textile waste with synthetic materials, such as the 10-30% recycled polyester typically used as a carrying fibre alongside 70-90% textile waste,” he said. “This signifies how much a particular fibre can be recycled again and again [..] The more a fibre can be recycled, less is the waste released” he added.

A legacy of pollution 

Panipat’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has been labelled ‘good’ for just 17 days in 2024. As per the local air quality tracker, “the current PM2.5 concentration in Panipat is 3.5 times above the recommended limit given by the WHO 24-hour air quality guidelines value.” PM 2.5 refers to particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter. Prolonged exposure to it is linked to premature death and reduced lung functions.

Additionally, with thousands of dyeing units releasing untreated toxins into drains, Panipat was ranked one of the 47 most critically polluted industrial clusters in India in terms of water pollution. 

Around 400 registered textile units reportedly operate in Panipat. Additionally, there are over 200 illegally operating units in the region. According to a media report by the Water Digest, “untreated wastewater containing toxic chemicals flows into the nearby Yamuna River from about 88 points.”

Even the groundwater of the region is polluted. A 2022 Panipat government report noted that “Studies indicate that groundwater in the city is polluted by nitrate and fluoride in some parts and is also polluted by heavy metals at many places. Heavy metals are found even at deeper levels. Groundwater in some parts of the city is unsuitable for drinking purposes.”

Community impacts

Ashish Dhaka, owner of sustainable fashion brand Beyni Bois, told FairPlanet that during his visits to Panipat, he has seen the problems due to contamination of water and airborne disease, which he said have risen in Panipat over the last few years. 

He explained how the textile industry has polluted the city. “They’re not just picking up this waste and making a yarn out of it. Before recycling, these clothes are washed with chemicals. You know where the effluent is being thrown. Now imagine that if we are laundering a thousand pieces of denim a day. It is humongous when it comes to volume. And it just flows into the channels.”

According to Ashish, most pollutants are released as effluents, which are released as a byproduct of the process. And most of these units get rid of this discharge without treating it. 

Additionally, most of these units operate on electricity generated from fossil fuels. “People are still using generators, and most of them are old ones that run on diesel. Think of the amount of diesel that they would use to run these setups”, he said. 

Most of the units recycling textiles are basic in their structure and technology. A limited number of factories possess advanced equipment run on clean energy,

From his numerous visits to Panipat, Ashish says he observed that many of those living there have moved out to other cities. He said problems like skin allergies and water and airborne diseases due to water contamination and the environment have also increased in Panipat over the last few years.  

Voices from Panipat

A recent report by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) confirms an unprecedented spike in cases of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, skin and pulmonary diseases has taken place in the area. The report associated this spike with the air pollution in the region while mentioning the heavy industrialisation in the city. 

A primary survey of houses within 5km of major industrial clusters in Panipat found approximately 93% of the households had a history of health difficulties during the previous five years. 

Devansh Dahiya, a local teacher living in Panipat, told FairPlanet he could see significant environmental consequences these recycling units possess while stating that they support the local economy. 

According to Dahiya, the central issue they face is due to the untreated residual water flowing from these outlets. This affects the water used for human consumption through drinking and irrigation. As mentioned earlier, the groundwater of Panipat is in a critical condition, and it is the main source of water in the region.  

He said the factories close when the air quality worsens, particularly during harvest season. “Many people around the industrial area have been suffering from respiratory problems. I know many such people.”

Transitioning to clean recycling

Parvinder Singh emphasised the need to use advanced sorting technologies that can focus on 100% cotton and other natural fibres, which are easier to recycle. He also mentioned using energy-efficient machinery and transitioning to solar energy to reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources. 

The city is home to enormous textile industries, and the available facilities to ensure clean treatment of effluents released into the water are insufficient. Most units bypass the facilities and discharge the waste directly into the water. 

On government intervention, Singh said, “Government and local authorities can provide support by creating standards for recycled fibres; implementing systems to ensure textile waste is collected efficiently and accounted for; providing funding and tax incentives for research and development on alternatives to synthetic fibres and offering subsidies or tax breaks for firms investing in sorting, recycling and waste-to-energy technologies to enhance their recycling capabilities.

Image by Priscilla du Preez.