A storm in the tea cup is brewing in the textile dyeing sector in the Delhi-NCR region. Nearly 150 factories in the dyeing industry in this region are badly hit by the ban on pet coke and furnace oil, which are the main constituents in the dyeing process. This has resulted in serious sourcing problems for brands like Zara, Gap, H&M, Old Navy, Marks & Spencer. In addition, the Chinese import of raw materials from India for manufacture of dyes from India has precipitated shortage of dyes.
The situation has turned piquant because it’s the peak season with orders pouring in from international markets for the spring of 2019. Instead of matching the demand, the proprietors of the dyeing factories in the Delhi-NCR region have decided to scale down operations. A local factory owner explained that there is a near 30 per cent hike in the prices of dyes in the previous fortnight and this has rendered operations unsustainable from the pricing point of view.
On the national level, India has served as a major sourcing centre for textile dyes to several global brands. Major brands like H&M and Ikea have been sourcing textile dyes from India for many decades. In fact, in the instance of Ikea, over 70 per cent of its exports from India constitute textiles. Besides, M&S from UK avails India’s dyeing industry for its sourcing.
