The Tirupur dyeing industry has been sanctioned Rs 200 crores in a bid to help it recover.  The move will help some 450 dyeing units. Following environmental concerns these units had collectively set up 18 common effluent plants at a total cost of a 100 crore rupees. The project had become a global standard and was appreciated by environmentalists and the processing industry the world over.

However, since it was the first of its kind, the project faced several technical challenges. Cost overruns put the units in a financial crisis.

Tirupur is a hub of the textile processing and knitting industry providing employment to over five lakh people and contributing 22 per cent to the total garment exports of the country. Tirupur is better known as the knitwear capital of India as it accounts for 90 per cent of India's cotton knitwear exports.

Limping back on a slow-but-promising western order recovery and robust domestic consumption, Tirupur is pursuing another growth cycle. The cluster sees protective wear, sports garments and defense-related businesses as obvious lines, given its huge spinning capacities.

Entrepreneurs want to wean themselves away from the fickle western apparel market to focus more on avenues of sustainable business like technical textiles or medical textiles and specialised products such as car upholstery.