ABSTRACT
According to surveys measuring natural resource use in all
industries, textile dyeing and finishing mills use considerably more
water than most-more than 200 tons of water for every ton of
textiles produced. Many of the chemicals used in textile production
are nonhazardous, but a relatively small proportion of these
chemicals is potentially hazardous. Around 25% of the chemical
compounds produced worldwide are used to a greater or lesser
extent in the textile industry globally. More than 2000 different
chemicals are used in textile processing, especially in textile wet
processing, many of which are known to be harmful to human (and
animal) health. Clean water is a finite resource that is becoming
scarce. Once charged with chemical additives the water is expelled
as wastewater, which, if untreated, may pollute the environment
by virtue of the high temperature of the effluent; extreme pH; and/
or contamination with dyes, diluents of dyes, auxiliaries, bleaches,
detergents, optical brighteners, and many other chemicals used
during textile processing.
