Many garment factories and that of related industries will have to shutter their gates, at least temporarily, if the energy crisis persists. AI-generated image for illustration purposes. Credits: FashionUnited The garment industry is currently navigating a crisis that is less about fashion trends and more about basic survival. As of mid-March 2026, the energy arteries that feed manufacturing hubs in South Asia have all but collapsed under the weight of the West Asia conflict. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has turned a steady stream of industrial fuel into a trickle, leaving boilers cold and assembly lines silent. Boiler shutdowns and gas cuts in India In northern India, the situation is nothing short of catastrophic. In Panipat alone—a town that usually hums with the sound of looms—over 350 dyeing units have been forced to pull the plug. These are not small-scale casualties; these units are the “mother” of the textile sector, preparing the fabrics that feed export houses globally. Nitin Arora, president of the Panipat Dyers’ Association, recently told The Tribune that “more than one lakh (100,000) people are directly or indirectly employed in the dyeing sector are at risk and export houses are also badly affected," as over 150 units in the Sector-29 dyeing cluster have shut down due to the unavailability of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The government has suggested switching to biomass, but most factories dismantled their coal-fed thermostats years ago to comply with “green” gas mandates. They are now trapped between a fuel they…
