“So badly polluted that you can’t give away houses for people to live there”. This is a local saying about Xintang. Xintang is a town facing a severe environmental crisis. It is known as the denim capital of the world.
One in three pairs of jeans sold globally comes from Xintang. The town is in Guangdong province. Xintang’s denim production is impressive. Factories produce 300 million denim articles each year. They employ 220000 people. Around two-thirds of China’s denim clothing is made here in Xintang.
However, Xintang faces many challenges. Raw material costs are rising. It is hard to raise capital. Labor costs are increasing. There is also a lack of well-known brands. But pollution is the most serious problem in Xintang.
The East River in Xintang has turned blue. It smells strange. Sixteen years ago, locals swam in the East River. Now, they wouldn’t even if they were paid.
Making jeans involves washing. Washing makes the cloth look old. It also gives it texture. The waste water from washing goes untreated into the river. Xintang’s Dadun Village waste water treatment plant has been closed for over a year.
Denim washing factories are everywhere in Xintang. The government has tried to clean them up. About 80 factories were moved to the Xinzhou Environmental Industry Park. But small factories still secretly pour waste water into the river. When it doesn’t rain, the water turns dark blue.
Next to the Nizi Bridge, there are piles of blue fluff. They look like lint from a washing machine. There are clear signs of blue dye in the water after it rains.
In 2010, Greenpeace found dangerous levels of lead, copper, and cadmium in the riverbed. One sample had cadmium levels 128 times over the limit. Another had a water pH level of 11.95.
Xintang’s first dye mill was in Dadun Village. It polluted the river. From 2006, the government started to control Xintang. They moved denim washing and dyeing plants to an industrial park in Xizhou Village.
But this “environmental” industrial park is not really environmental. The roads are noisy. The air smells of sulfur. Ditches are full of dark blue water. Trees have strips of blue cloth hanging from them. The dust on the roads is light blue. Almost all streams in the area are black and stinking. The White River is the worst. Its slow-flowing water is as black as Chinese ink.
In 1996, Xizhou Village had fertile soil. It was full of fruit trees. It was also known as a fishing village. Now, there is almost no farming. Instead, it’s an industrial park. It has oil tanks, a power station, and a waste water treatment plant.
Locals are unwilling to work in this “dangerous” industry. They won’t even work for 2,000 yuan a month. Almost all factory workers are from other provinces. Xintang has 220000 local residents. It also has 500000 immigrants.
Workers in the factories breathe harmful chemicals. They are worried about their health. Many are temporary laborers. They don’t have contracts or insurance. They don’t get paid for three months. If they get sick, they must wait two more months for their wages.
The East River is the source of drinking water for millions in Guangzhou. The polluted water threatens the water security of Dongguan and Shenzhen. The denim capital’s crisis extends far beyond its borders.