Textiles and water

Going to India and seeing how textile and craft production works there has been a real eye opener for me. It has made me realise that the issues around sustainability in relation to the textile industry are so complex, especially in the context of India, a country with such a history of textile production both at the craft and industrial level.

Visiting this block print factory in Gujurat, I learnt about the closed-loop system they have developed within the factory that filters and cleans the waste water.  Once the water goes through this filtration system it comes out completely clean, and with the addition of chlorine, would be drinkable. All this cleaned water is then re-used and because they also save gallons of rainwater in their large water tanks during the monsoon, they rarely need to turn on the tap. This is amazing considering that they are using synthetic dyes and also considering the vast amounts of water that are used for block and silks screen printing and for dyeing of fabric. So they are being resource efficient and treating their waste water responsibly.

However, it was interesting that they chose not to use natural dyes. They believe that natural dyes do not work reliably at this scale of production and that there is a lack of consistency in the colour, all arguments that I have heard before in relation to natural dyes. Seeing the realities of the challenges that one is faced with at a factory-floor level and the different solutions that have been found, was an eye-opener. If a factory is able to treat their waste water (containing synthetic dyes) so efficiently, clearly natural dyes are not the only answer to a more sustainable textile industry.

Indian textile skills

I have been in India the last week working on a project with a block printing enterprise in Gujurat. It is my first time time in India and I am astounded at the level of skill and craftsmanship that the people have. For a country that is so poor economically, they are so rich in other ways.

Spending time at the block print factory, I watched the block carver as he carves with such precision and care. He sits cross-legged, for eight hours a day, in front of a small wooden stool, carving the wood blocks, using his own hand made tools. His skills have been passed down through his family for generations and even though he would probably have over forty years of skills experience, he is still paid very poorly, even at this well-managed company.

But as I watch him I wonder if he would give it all up in an instant to work in one of the new, expanding industries that are emerging in India. Its all very well to romanticise his tradiotnal know-how but what if he still lives in poverty?

I have been pondering on how complex the issues are in this country and will have some more thoughts later on the subject.