India's Textile Industry Could Be Region's Greenest

CENTRAL DISTRICT, Hong Kong - Oct. 8, 2013 - PRLog -- What is often thought of as one of the world's least environmetally conscious nation's is becoming a leader in cleaner and greener manufacturing.

According to a feature story in the October issue of Inside Fashion magazine, India  now has some of the world's strictest environmental laws.  Unlike in other nations, they are serious about enforcing them.

Setting up a new textile factory in India requires that the owner go through an arduous seven-step process that involves passing an environmental impact assessment, getting 'consent to establish' under the Air and Water Acts and getting permission to handle hazardous chemicals.

The government is also cracking down on existing facilities, and reportedly has closed about 70 percent of the dyeing factories in northern India.

The driving force behind this heightened environmental awareness is a combination of NGOs, international brands that source in India, and the Indian people themselves, who are aware of the toll that pollution can take on their health.

“Export requirements are mandated by strict [standards] of compliance in terms of ecology and sustainability enforced largely by legal requirements as well as those by international industry,” said Rajesh Balakrishnan, vice president of Textile Association (Mumbai Unit).

  Most international brands are very sensitive about being accused of working with factories that don’t meet international compliance standards and are putting more pressure on Indian manufacturers.

  “Awareness and enforcement of sustainable products and practices still has a long way to go," said Mr. Balakrishnan.

Local brands and retailers are more lax about eco-standards and the focus is more on offering affordably priced products to the domestic market.