An investigation by The Guardian uncovered that reports of lung disease, skin conditions, and cancer are rising in Panipat, India -- and the textile waste industry may be to blame.
As The Guardian explained, Panipat is known as the "castoff capital of the world," processing 1.1 million tons of discarded textile waste per year. Most of that waste comes from the fast fashion industry, which is notorious for producing large quantities of cheaply made clothing.
In the industrial city, massive shipments of discarded clothing from Europe, North America, and East Asia are shredded, spun into yarn, and then woven into rugs, blankets, and cushions.
"All grades of material -- from polyester track pants to cotton shirts -- are shredded together into what is called 'shoddy yarn,'" Ina Bharguna, program manager at the textile recycling think tank Reverse Resources, told The Guardian. "It is never free of microplastics."
At least 300,000 people work in textile recycling in Panipat. Some report that the lint-heavy air in recycling factories makes their chests tight and skin itchy after a shift. Doctors told The Guardian that conditions such as tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung disease are exceedingly common.
"There are no masks, no covers," worker Kailash Kumar told The Guardian.
Also damaging to human health is the massive amount of bleach needed to treat textile scraps before they are spun into yarn. Many "bleaching houses" operate illegally and without oversight. About 80% of the wastewater from bleaching operations is released directly into the environment, polluting both surface and groundwater.
A 2022 household survey conducted near Panipat's textile industry found nearly 93% of families had experienced severe health issues over the previous five years. High blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases are widespread. Skin conditions including rashes and eczema are common among children and women, who are mainly responsible for washing clothing and collecting water.
Though textile recycling is thought of as eco-friendly, the fast fashion industry has turned it into an environmental problem. Its model encourages people to buy cheap, low-quality clothing -- often made of low-cost plastic or toxic materials -- and quickly throw it away, creating huge amounts of waste and driving pollution.
The production and recycling of these fast fashion textiles release toxic chemicals and dyes that poison drinking water, damage soil, and destroy ecosystems. In Panipat, recycling factories also release plastic fibers and toxic dust into the air in processing, worsening pollution and health risks.
"The working environment is insufferable," Ramesh Chawdhary, a senior official in the Haryana labor department, told The Guardian. "We routinely come across cases of breathing issues, migraine, skin infections, even cancer.
Panipat's situation is an example of "pollution outsourcing," wherein high-income countries export millions of tons of discarded clothing to places such as India, shifting the environmental burden of disposal onto poorer regions. It's environmentally destructive and unjust.
Fashion's so-called "circular economy" deserves a closer look. Instead of textile reuse being an environmental solution, it perpetuates pollution and exploitation. Cleaning up the recycling system is essential to protect human health and safeguard the environment.
India is developing national and regional policies to protect workers and improve textile recycling management. But environmental experts told The Guardian that enforcement is often weak. Even when courts order illegal factories to close, follow-up is rare, and many continue to operate. India's pollution control board has imposed about $57 million in fines for violations, but only around $42 million has been collected, as fines are frequently reduced, ignored, or not enforced.
Meanwhile, nonprofits working to clean up the industry are helping textile recycling businesses to adopt safer practices -- but only if they are willing.
Despite these efforts, illegal recycling plants remain active, pollution is rampant, and health problems among workers continue to grow. And still, some factory owners refuse to acknowledge a problem.
"We don't use any chemicals here -- it is just dust and lint," one factory owner said about his operation. "How can that cause anything serious?"