§1What this business is

Garments are received, relaxed and prepared, dyed with dyestuff chosen for the fibre (reactive, direct, sulphur, vat, pigment, acid or disperse), the colour is fixed, and the pieces are washed, centrifuged, dried and finished. Garment dyeing lets makers hold undyed stock and colour it to order. The report plans 500 pieces a day.

Capacity: 500 pieces a day (10-hour shift); year 1 at 50%.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone in a garment cluster (Tiruppur, Ludhiana, Delhi NCR and similar) with dyeing experience.

Who it is not for

Someone without a site cleared for effluent discharge.

Advantages

  • Garment makers in clusters need dyeing on demand
  • Moderate investment (₹15.32 L)
  • Job-work model: client supplies the garments
  • Same machines can dye other garments

Drawbacks

  • Effluent treatment is costly and closely watched
  • Shade mismatch and shrinkage claims
  • Depends on nearby garment units
  • Break-even above 40%

Skills you need

  • Garment dyeing and shade matching
  • Machine operation
  • Effluent management
  • Client handling

Why difficulty 3/5: Dyeing skill and effluent rules make it harder than it looks.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Garment manufacturers
  • Garment traders and brands

How it sells

  • Job-work orders in garment clusters

Good to know

  • The report puts India's textile chemicals market at US$ 1.5 billion in 2017.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Horizontal paddle machine1₹1.00 lakh
Drum machine1₹2.70 lakh
Washing-centrifugal machine1₹2.55 lakh
Jet-dyeing centrifugal machine1₹4.50 lakh

From: PMEGP sample project report — Shirt and Garment Dyeing (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Dyestuff: reactive, direct, sulphur, vat, pigment, acid, disperse (chosen to suit the fibre)₹18.75 lakh in year 1 with chemicals

From: PMEGP sample project report — Shirt and Garment Dyeing (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

In our raw material database

Reactive dyes →

§5Licences & registration

  1. Consent to Establish and Operate from the State Pollution Control Board (dyeing is a water-polluting activity)
  2. Effluent treatment plant or membership of a common effluent plant
  3. Udyam registration and GST
  4. Groundwater permission if you draw borewell water

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP and MUDRA fit a ₹15.32 L unit; CGTMSE for a collateral-free loan; Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report ₹15.32 L = plant and machinery ₹10.75 L, furniture ₹1.20 L, working capital ₹3.37 L; land own or rented.

Working capital: Working capital ₹3.37 L; bank demand ₹3.03 L. 15 days of dyes, 10 days of finished goods.

Year not printed on the report — check current machinery and raw-material prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Dyeing for garment exporters is an indirect export; buyers ask for restricted-chemical (azo-free) compliance.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Pollution-board action
  • Quality claims on costly garments
  • Seasonal order swings
  • Slow payment

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working shirt and garment dyeing unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Consent to Establish and Operate from the State Pollution Control Board (dyeing is a water-polluting activity), Effluent treatment plant or membership of a common effluent plant), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Shirt and Garment Dyeing?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Shirt and Garment Dyeing (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.